The ethics of Voluntary Active Euthanasia (VAE) and public policy

Abstract

It is a universally accepted and practised tenet that every human being has a right to live. Advances in the field of medicine have now made it possible to extend and maintain biological life of persons terminally ill, and battling with death, far beyond where death would naturally occur. This has at the same time led to a different type of issue. Persons who are terminally ill and suffering in pain, with no hope of cure, have the facility to be alive for a longer time. In various countries in Europe and around, such persons who seem to have no other form of redemption, have been offered a painless option. This option is the controversial Voluntary Assisted Euthanasia . This in common parlance, is referred to as Mercy Killing. India is a poor country, wherein less than 0.9% of the GDP is spent on medical care. The demand for medical aid far exceeds the availability of resources. Hospitals and medical care centres are stretched to beyond capacity and there is an unfulfilled need. The demographic profile is tending towards a higher dependency ratio. Families are becoming nuclear, gravitating towards cities in search of employment. Statistics indicate almost 19.3%of the Indian populace as below poverty line. The number of terminally ill, destitute persons is ever on the increase. With dwindling or little financial support, these persons die a lingering death ridden with pain, hopelessness and indignity. To many, the redemption seems to be deceasement. This study will take a look at the various countries around the world regarding their implementation of VAE, the regulation and the effectiveness. It will also address the ethical angles involved as also the alternatives such as palliative care. The main aim of the study is to attempt to find out ways and means of alleviating the sufferings of such destitute, terminally ill persons, considering all these viewpoints, and to see if any policy can be evolved in this direction.