The Case Of The Living Will

Should an adult with competent mental faculties be able to issue an advance directive to refuse medical treatment, even withdrawal from life-saving devices?

- Naorem Anuja

THE LATE H. D. SHOURIE had always been a man with a cause. The nonagenarian activist had been deeply touched by the story of a sportsman, who had been reduced to life in a permanent vegetative state (PVS). This hit a nerve with Shourie—his own mortality was perhaps on his mind. Surely, a man had the right to die with dignity?!