Karnataka has become the second state in India to implement the Supreme Court's directive regarding terminally ill patients' right to die with dignity. In the orders issued on Thursday, the health department appointed medical experts to the Secondary Medical Board to decide when life-sustaining treatment can be stopped for terminally ill patients.

CREDIT: UNSPLASH

As per the Government Order dated January 30, any neurologist, neurosurgeon, surgeon, anaesthetist, or intensivist approved by the appropriate authority under the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act for the certification of brain-stem death will be nominated as a member of the Secondary Medical Board, which will certify the withholding or withdrawing of life-sustaining treatment.

"We have also come out with an Advance Medical Directive (AMD), or a living will, in which a patient can record their wishes about their medical treatment in the future. This important step will bring great relief and a dignified sense of closure to many families and individuals. Karnataka is a progressive state, and we are always at the forefront in upholding liberal and equitable values for a more just society," Karnataka minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said.

Karnataka is the second state after Kerala to implement the Supreme Court order on the right to die with dignity.

CREDIT: BCCL

In 2018, the SC held that the right to die with dignity was a fundamental right.

In 2023, the SC modified the guidelines to make the right to die with dignity more accessible.

SC held that attestation by a notary or a gazetted officer would be sufficient for a person to make a valid living will, which is a written statement that details a person’s desire regarding future medical procedures or termination of medical support when an individual is incapacitated.

Also read: This Gynaecologist Has Become The First Mumbai Resident To Submit A Living Will

Instead of the living will being in the custody of the district court concerned, SC said that the document would be a part of the National Health Digital Record, which can be accessed by hospitals and doctors from any part of the country.

CREDIT: UNSPLASH

If the hospital’s medical board denies permission to withdraw medical treatment, the family members of the patient can approach the relevant high court, which forms a fresh board of medical experts to enable the court to take a final call.

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