India, July 23 -- All public and private hospitals across the state must set up dedicated committees to facilitate passive euthanasia, following a state government resolution of July 17. The facility is currently available only in hospitals run by the state medical education department, such as the J J Hospital, in Mumbai, and Sassoon General Hospital, Pune.

The Supreme Court had legalised passive euthanasia in November 2022. The ruling permitted the removal of life-prolonging supports, such as ventilators or artificial feeding tubes, from terminally ill patients allowing them to die naturally. However, the process could not be fully implemented due to the lack of standard protocols or procedural clarity.

To iron out these issues, the s...