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SC upholds passive euthanasia- Death with dignity
Supreme Court has upheld passive euthanasia and the right to give advance medical directives or „LivingWills‟ to smoothen the dying process as part of the fundamental right to live with dignity
Court has laid down a much-needed legal framework for enforcing living wills
Persistent vegetative state (PVS) with no hope of cure or recovery
Right to a dignified life extends up to the point of having a dignified death
•Five-member Constitution Bench
Accelerating the process of death for reducing the period of suffering constitutes a right to live with dignity
Core message is that all adults with the capacity to give consent “have the right of self determination and autonomy”, and the right to refuse medical treatment is also encompassed in it
Passive euthanasia was recognised by a two-judge Bench in Aruna Shanbaug in 2011; now the Constitution Bench has expanded the jurisprudence on the subject by adding to it the principle of a „living will‟
Passive euthanasia essentially involves with drawal of life support
So that a person with a terminal illness is allowed to die in the natural course.
court has invoked its inherent power under Article 142 of the Constitution to grant legal status to advance directives, and its directives will hold good until Parliament enacts legislation on the matter
Trade goes on
Revival of theTrans-Pacific Partnership, sans U.S., must buttress the free trade debate
United States under DonaldTrump may not be a huge fan of free trade across borders, but that’s not stopping other countries from embracing it.
11 Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, Australia and Canada, signed the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in Chile.
US pullout- In the absence of the US, it has been renamed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Interestingly, the CPTPP comes soon after the U.S. had made clear its plan to impose tari•s on he import of aluminium and steel in an attempt to protect domestic manufacturers.
countries signing the agreement, which account for more than 13% of the world economy, have agreed to bring down tariffs on cross-border trade by as much as 98% after domestic ratification
More countries are expected to sign the CPTPP in the future, and there is hope that a post–trump U.S. may join the bloc.
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