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Euthanasia
Kerala will launch a crackdown on stray dogs by rolling out mobile sterilisation units in 152 blocks and permitting the euthanasia of seriously ill animals, following public concern over recent rabies-linked deaths in the state. Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh said on Wednesday that before deploying the portable ABC (Animal Birth Control) units across the blocks, a pilot study would be conducted in Nedumangad, near here, using one unit under the leadership of the Animal Husbandry Department. "These portable units are more cost-effective than permanent ABC centres," he told a press conference after a joint discussion involving the Animal Husbandry, Local Self-Government, and Law Departments regarding stray dog control. He also said a large-scale vaccination drive for stray dogs would be conducted in August. "Each portable ABC unit will cost Rs 28 lakh. Once an order is placed, it will take about two months for the units to be delivered. During this period, suitable locatio
British lawmakers are set to vote Friday on whether to back a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales, in what could be one of the most consequential social policy decisions they will ever make. Members of Parliament supported legalising assisted dying when they first debated the issue in November by 330 votes to 275. Since then, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has undergone months of scrutiny leading to some changes in the proposed legislation, which is being shepherded through Parliament by Labour lawmaker Kim Leadbeater rather than the government. Leadbeater is confident lawmakers will back the bill. We have the most robust piece of legislation in the world in front of us tomorrow, and I know that many colleagues have engaged very closely with the legislation and will make their decision based on those facts and that evidence, and that cannot be disputed," Leadbeater said on Thursday on the eve of the vote alongside bereaved and ...
Terminally ill New Yorkers would have the legal ability to end their own lives with pharmaceutical drugs under a bill passed on Monday in the state Legislature. The proposal, which now moves to the governor's office, would allow a person with an incurable illness to be prescribed life-ending drugs if he or she requests the medication and gets approval from two physicians. A spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she would review the legislation. The New York Senate gave final approval to the bill on Monday night after hours of debate during which supporters said it would let terminally ill people die on their own terms. "It's not about hastening death, but ending suffering," said state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who sponsored the proposal. Opponents have argued the state should instead improve end-of-life medical care or have objected on religious grounds. "We should not be in the business of state-authorised suicide," said state Senator George Borrello,
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a PIL seeking the right to passive euthanasia for persons afflicted with rabies. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K Vinod Chandran agreed to take up the petition filed by NGO All Creatures Great and Small on February 10 after the matter was mentioned for listing. In 2020, the top court issued notice to the Centre and sought responses from ministries of health and environment on the petition that was filed in 2019. In its plea, the NGO prayed that a procedure should be laid down for rabies patients to allow them or their guardians to opt for the assistance of physicians for assisted dying or passive euthanasia. On March 9, 2018, a five-judge Constitution bench of the SC held that right to life includes right to die and legalised passive euthanasia by allowing the creation of a 'living will' that could provide terminally ill patients or those in persistent vegetative state (PVS) with no hope of recovery a dignified exit by refusing medic
