NEW DELHI: The Centre has told the Delhi High Court that a competent adult can nominate a partner, including one in a non-heterosexual or queer relationship, to take medical decisions on their behalf in case of incapacity.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission (NMC) made the submission in an affidavit filed before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in response to a petition on the issue. The matter is listed for further hearing on September 17.
The judge had earlier asked the Centre why the law recognised a live-in relationship between a man and a woman but not between same-sex partners.
The ministry and the NMC said such an approach is “substantially capable of being accommodated within the existing legal and ethical framework, “subject to applicable law and appropriate safeguards.”
“Permitting a competent adult to nominate his/ her partner, including a partner in a non-heterosexual/ queer relationship, to take medical decisions on his/ her behalf in the event of incapacity would constitute a logical and tailored extension of the same principle, while respecting patient autonomy and ensuring continuity of care, subject to appropriate safeguards and the applicable law,” the affidavit said.
It added, “When a competent adult has nominated or otherwise authorised his/ her partner to act on his/ her behalf in the event of incapacity, there appears to be no medical or ethical rationale for excluding such person merely on account of the sex, gender or sexual orientation of the partners or because their union does not fall within the conventional understanding of marriage, subject always to applicable law and appropriate safeguards.”
The affidavit said the Centre recognises and respects the constitutional guarantees of dignity, privacy, autonomy, equality and individual choice available to all persons, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
It added that the Centre was not questioning the constitutional protection available to persons in queer relationships.
“The petitioner for framing guidelines are substantially capable of being accommodated within the existing legal and ethical framework,” the affidavit said.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by a member of the LGBTQ community seeking to allow her partner to be appointed as her medical representative. The plea seeks recognition of a non-heterosexual partner as a medical representative who can take decisions on behalf of a patient during medical treatment or emergencies.