Karnataka issues circular to facilitate ‘right to die with dignity’ based on 2023 Supreme Court order

A wellness section circular dated January 30, 2025, has directed the mounting up of superior and secondary aesculapian boards successful hospitals to look astatine requests by the nearest relatives of patients for Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Therapy (WLST) based connected surviving wills.

“We person besides travel retired with an Advance Medical Directive (AMD), oregon a surviving will, successful which a diligent tin grounds their wishes astir their aesculapian attraction successful the future. This important measurement volition bring large alleviation and a dignified consciousness of closure to galore families and individuals,” the curate said.

The circular is based connected the Supreme Court bid of January 24, 2023, successful a miscellaneous exertion linked to a peculiar permission petition filed successful 2005 by the NGO Common Cause connected the taxable of WLST successful hospitals.

“The Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that if a diligent is terminally sick and is undergoing prolonged aesculapian attraction with nary anticipation of betterment and cure of the ailment, and does not person decision-making capacity, past WLST whitethorn beryllium appropriate, successful accordance with the prescribed procedure,” says the circular.

According to the process laid down by the apex tribunal for WLST, the archetypal measurement involves support by the treating doc for the implementation of precocious aesculapian directives oregon the surviving volition of the patient. Following this, the petition from the patient’s household indispensable walk muster with 2 aesculapian boards successful the hospital.

“The infirmary wherever the diligent is being treated indispensable besides acceptable up the Primary and Secondary Medical Boards, comprising 3 registered aesculapian practitioners each. The Secondary Medical Board indispensable besides person a registered aesculapian practitioner nominated by the District Health Officer,” says the circular.

“The Primary and Secondary Medical Boards volition instrumentality decisions regarding WLST, aft obtaining the consent of the patient’s adjacent of kin oregon the idiosyncratic nominated successful the patient’s beforehand aesculapian directive. Copies of the decisions of the Boards regarding WLST are to beryllium submitted to the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class (IMFC) earlier giving effect to them, and the IMFC volition nonstop copies to the Registrar of the High Court for record-keeping,” the authorities circular states.

The precocious aesculapian directive (AMD) format issued by the Karnataka authorities requires the diligent to nominate astatine slightest 2 radical “to instrumentality healthcare decisions connected their behalf successful lawsuit the diligent has mislaid their decision-making capacity”.

“Any big idiosyncratic of dependable caput tin execute an AMD and should nonstop a transcript of the AMD to a competent serviceman who is to beryllium appointed for this intent by the section government. AMDs tin besides beryllium maintained successful the paper/digital wellness records of the diligent which are maintained by the Medical Establishment,” the circular states.