A Year after SC verdict on right to living will, 73% Indians are unaware

A survey of more than 2,400 urban Indian respondents has found that while 88% of respondents wanted to decide their line of medical treatment during the last days of their life

On March 9, 2018, a Supreme Court of India judgment declared “the right to a dignified life upto the point of death including a dignified procedure of death” to be a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

By recognising that “an adult human being having mental capacity to take an informed decision has right to refuse medical treatment including withdrawal from life-saving devices”, the court enabled Indians to create an advance medical directive, or a living will, containing a person’s wishes regarding their end-of-life medical treatment should they lose their capacity to take decisions or