End of Life Care in India: A Model Legal Framework

The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy has worked with the Indian Society for Critical Care Medicine, the Indian Association of Palliative Care, and the Indian Academy of Neurology to draft A Model Legal Framework for End of Life Care in India.

The model bill establishes a legal framework that operationalizes a 2018 Supreme Court decision, removing legal uncertainty surrounding the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. Particularly notable is the mandate for hospitals of a certain size to constitute their own "end of life care committees," and allowing others to rely on "district" committees.