NEW DELHI: : A retired professor of anatomy based in Mumbai in her 70s, Dr Lopa Mehta drafted her “living will” an advance directive on end of life treatment in 2019. But she is still unable to get it registered despite guidelines that are part of the Supreme Court’s 2018 landmark judgment on passive euthanasia and living will.
It turns out that authorities and those keen on registering a living will are both struggling in the absence of standard procedures at the central or state level to implement the SC guidelines. The practical difficulties have triggered a demand from stakeholders for a comprehensive law on end of life care.