Euthanasia and Informed Consent: Ethical Issues and Moral Implications

Dr. Arun Garg

Abstract: The one truth and one inevitable fate that every person ever born on earth must face is Death. Yet, almost all of us live our lives without care or without any preparation for meeting our ultimate end. In fact, we generally avoid talking about this phenomenon and even when we are forced to face the mortality of our lives, we normally try to distract ourselves and divert the issue. This is becoming a matter of concern in present times as the modern science and medicine are making progress and achieving success in keeping us alive through numerous interventions. Although, we are thankful for these developments and often they have made positive impact in lives of most people undergoing these treatments but there are few who remain totally dependent on medication and quality of their lives deteriorate to an extent that their lives seem meaningless and a burden. It is for these people that Euthanasia seems like a viable option; albeit the implementation of the same has given birth to a whole new set of ethical issues, the most important of which unmistakably is the concept of 'Informed Consent'. One may argue favourably that Euthanasia should be allowed, especially for the terminally ill patients; nevertheless, it must be emphasized that the same must not be done without 'Informed Consent? as far as possible. The issue here is that most patients who seem fit for Euthanasia are not in the position to give 'Informed Consent? and this is where we need to inform and educate people about the inevitability of death and help them prepare for the same. This paper shall try to explore the ethical issues around the concept of Euthanasia and argue in favour of seeking 'Informed Consent? from patients at an early stage of their treatment to avoid or rather minimize any moral implications.

Keywords: Euthanasia, Informed Consent, Voluntary Euthanasia, Involuntary Euthanasia, Terminally Ill

How to Cite?: Dr. Arun Garg, "Euthanasia and Informed Consent: Ethical Issues and Moral Implications", Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 134-136, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26802143214, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26802143214

Download Citation: APA | MLA | BibTeX | EndNote | RefMan