Should terminally ill patients be made to endure painful therapy or opt for end of life care support that will limit treatment but facilitate a less painful death? It is often a most difficult decision, which many families and medical fraternity routinely face. This is an emotional, ethical, economic, social and medicolegal issue. The issue is of a patient's rights as a citizen. Every medical intervention requires the consent of the patient. He reserves the right to refuse treatment, even if it is to his detriment. The exercise of this right should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to commit suicide or euthanasia.
This paper deals with ethical and legal guidelines in dealing with a case where patient is put on life care support system and decision to end of life care support. Paper has also made a sincere attempt to differentiate between euthanasia and end of life care support, various guidelines as per the Organ Transplantation Act, 1994, and the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations-2002, Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) Guidelines, etc.
Ethics, Euthanasia, Death, Life Care Support, Organ, Terminal Care
