Outlook Cover: Suicide Isn't A Moral Question Outlook Cover: Suicide Isn't A Moral Question

The debate over euthanasia has resurfaced after the Karnataka Health Department issued an order to implement the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling, which allows terminally ill patients the right to die with dignity. With Karnataka becoming the second state after Kerala to act on this directive, the move has sparked discussions on medical ethics and legal rights.

The decision follows a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that said the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution also includes the right to die with dignity.

State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao called it a "historic order" and said, “this will greatly help those who are terminally ill with no chance of recovery or are in a permanent vegetative state, where life-sustaining treatment no longer benefits them,” he said.

“The final was really intense; the Chinese were breathing down our necks throughout the game and made it really difficult for us to create a clear goal scoring chance,” Harmanpreet said in a Hockey India release.

On Tuesday, deep inside Chinese Mongolia, the Harmanpreet Singh-led Men in Blue did just about enough to beat a spirited Chinese side. The occasion: the final of the Asian Champions Trophy 2024.

Karnataka has introduced guidelines for medical boards to review euthanasia requests, provide counsel and ensure legal scrutiny, making the process transparent for those with irreversible or incurable conditions.

Outlook has previously covered stories on assisted death and the euthanasia debate.

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In September 2023, Outlook released an issue titled "Suicide Isn’t a Moral Question", challenging the perception of suicide as an act of cowardice or crime. It urged readers to reconsider that those labelled as perpetrators are often victims themselves. The issue explored whether suicide should be seen as a right or a crime,jl7 the deep stigma surrounding it, the silent agony of those in a coma, and coping with the loss of loved ones to suicide.

Reporter Haima Deshpande revisits the Aruna Shanbaug case, a landmark in India’s euthanasia debate. Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse, remained in a vegetative state for 42 years after she was sexually assaulted, sparking the country’s first euthanasia plea and a legal battle over the right to die. In 2011, the Supreme Court recognised passive euthanasia, allowing the withdrawal of life support for patients unable to make informed decisions, marking a turning point in India’s legal and medical history.

A story by Snigdhendu Bhattacharya questioned whether ending one’s life defies the almighty? Is it a refusal to play a game whose rules have been set by others? Is it a refusal to live a life of dependency on others? Orhola play, is it an escape from responsibilities, a betrayal of the dependent/s, an act of selfishness?