Advance Medical Directives & Living Will – A Landmark Judicial Development

Since the concept of advance directives is new to our country, we will have to wait and watch how it pans out

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly recognizes ‘dignity’ of an individual as an important facet of human rights. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which deals with the Right to Life and Personal Liberty also accentuates ‘dignity’ as the cornerstone of life and liberty. This right is incomplete unless it encompasses the dignity of an individual. With the passage of time, the Supreme Court of India (“SC”) has expanded the spectrum of Art. 21 to include within its ambit the right to live with dignity as an essential component of the Right to Life and Liberty.

It is undisputed that the sanctity of life must be kept on a high pedestal, yet in cases of terminally ill persons or persons in persistent vegetative stage, where there is absolutely no hope for recovery, priority should be given to the right of self-determination. The right to die cannot be claimed to be part of the right to life, but undoubtedly, the right to die with dignity is an inseparable and inextricable facet of the right to live with dignity.

On 9th March 2018, a Constitutional bench of the SC, in a landmark judgment, held that Art. 21 of the Constitution includes the ‘right to die with dignity’. As Advance Directives have gained lawful recognition in several jurisdictions by way of legislation and/or judicial pronouncement, the SC also felt the need to recognize this right as a part of the citizen’s right of self-determination, dignity, autonomy and privacy. The bench upheld the right to give ‘Advance Medical Directive’ or ‘living will’ spelling out wishes/directives relating to medical treatment of terminally ill persons or those in a persistent vegetative state.

What are Advance Directives or Living Wills?