Anti-Coercion Measures: Assessing the Legal Strictness of Indian Will for end of life and Advance Medical Directives

Abstract

The right to life is an important right of individuals. It is interpreted in a waste sense in the case of Maneka Gandhi. After this case this right includes many rights which are necessary to live with dignity. Now these days a new right has introduced and became a burning topic of discussion after the issued the guidelines by Honorable Supreme Court in case of Common Cause that is known as will for end of life. The two main legal instruments for preserving personal autonomy at the end of life are The Wills for end of life and Advance Medical Directives (AMD). The legal validation of these documents introduces a considerable systemic risk, the potential for coercion, undue influence, or early cessation of care due to socio-economic or familial pressures. The implementation of this right is significantly complicated by a complex framework of procedural rigours established by the state to reduce the hazards of medical paternalism, familial avarice, and involuntary euthanasia. This study examines whether current legislative protections effectively defend vulnerable, terminally ill patients from external coercion or if their excessive institutional rigidity becomes an insurmountable bureaucratic obstacle that effectively undermines a citizen’s right to self-determination.

 The research examines the comparative Indian legal frameworks and explores how the nation establishes procedural safeguards to ascertain the patient's intent. India has transitioned from a cumbersome, multi-tiered court clearance process to a more efficient medical-board framework. The study evaluates the structural effectiveness of the legislative framework, addressing the conflict between procedural accessibility and the prevention of elder abuse and involuntary euthanasia.