Can India handle legal euthanasia? Experts highlight risks and challenges

The debate surrounding the right to die with dignity has gathered pace in India, with legal, ethical, and medical connotations being widely debated. At the India Today Conclave 2025, experts representing a wide range of backgrounds scoured into the nuances of passive and active euthanasia, living wills, and palliative care.

The Supreme Court of India, in a historic 2018 verdict, acknowledged passive euthanasia and the right of patients to make advance directives or 'living wills.' The verdict enabled terminally ill patients to deny life support if their condition was found to be incurable.

The legal structure is still intricate, with the court calling upon Parliament to legislate on the matter further.