Mental Health Vis-à-Vis Euthanasia

Abstract

Mental health issues are a major concern across the globe nowadays since the number of cases of mental illness is increasing day by day. In order to comply with international law on the protection of people suffering from mental illness, India enacted the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, to provide rights to mentally affected people and those suffering from mental illness. The Act gives the right to people who are currently not suffering from any mental illness to execute an advance directive as to what should be done if they fall mentally ill. He also has the right to nominate a representative who would be entitled to make decisions on behalf of the patient if the patient is not in a condition to do so. This article aims to study the Mental Healthcare Act of, 2017, in light of the law on euthanasia in India and whether the law in the country is sufficient to protect people suffering from mental illness.