Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao announced a historic order to enforce the Supreme Court’s directive on a patient’s right to die with dignity.
On X, he stated that the department has introduced an advance medical directive or living will, allowing patients to record their future medical treatment preferences.
“My Karnataka Health Department, @DHFWKA, passes a historic order to implement the Supreme Court’s directive for a patients Right to Die with dignity,” he said.
The minister said this will greatly help terminally ill patients with no hope of recovery or those in a persistent vegetative state who no longer benefit from 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,” he said.
This important step, according to the minister, 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 and just society,” he added.
On March 9, 2018, a five-judge bench comprising Dipak Misra CJI, AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud, and Ashok Bhushan ruled that the right to die with dignity is a fundamental right.
The Supreme Court observer quoted, “An individual’s right to execute advance medical directives is an assertion of the right to bodily integrity and self-determination and does not depend on any recognition or legislation by a State.”
This ruling empowers terminally ill patients to opt for dignified end-of-life care through advance directives or living wills.
(With inputs of PTI)
