Isn’t it paradoxical that on one hand, we wish to live our lives on our own terms and yet, when it comes to ending it respectfully, even when terminally ill, remains against the law.
Euthanasia or mercy killing is a much debated issue in our country that saw the likes of Aruna Shanbaug lie in a vegetative state for decades. It took 42 years for this case to get a judgement granting permission to withdraw her life support.
Although passive euthanasia has been legalised in India in March 2011 under exceptional circumstances, active Euthanasia is still under the legal cloud.
To get an overview of a cross section of people, we spoke to legal experts and informed citizens who shared their insights on the issue:
The Supreme Court specified two irreversible conditions to permit Passive Euthanasia Law in its 2011 Law:
The brain-dead for whom the ventilator can be switched off.
Those in a Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) for whom the feed can be tapered out and pain-managing palliatives be added, according to laid-down international specifications
Types:
Voluntary euthanasia, ending a life in a painless manner is legal in some countries.
In non-voluntary, euthanasia, when the patient’s consent is unavailable is illegal in all countries.
Involuntary euthanasia is without asking consent or against the patient’s will.
It is illegal in all countries and is usually considered murder.
They can be further divided into passive or active:
- Passive euthanasia involves holding back the treatment necessary for the continuance of life.
- Active euthanasia involves the use of lethal substances or forces such as administering a lethal injection.
Anita Sharma: I support mercy killing to a great extent but like any other thing it has its pros and cons.
When we see at young people who suffer from last stage of cancer or are brain dead or are surviving on only external life support, the suffering is for the entire family as well.
Also, the family incurs huge expenditure, they often sell almost everything they own but still cannot save their beloved. From the point of view of judiciary, it is like murder.
Moreover, it can be misused as a clause to get rid of a family member as well. Even doctors today feel that they will be losing money on discharging a person who is on artificial support.
On the other hand, people who do not have money to continue giving life support often are found indulging in unfair mal-practices to raise funds to prolong someone’s life.
The rich who can afford, do it by all means without getting to know what the patient is feeling. Overall, I think that although mercy killing is a blessing for many, it should be used by proper people and at proper time and under proper guidelines.
(Retd.) Colonel Arun Joshi: Personally, I feel it is very complicated. In the case of Aruna Shanbaug, even her family had given up on hope, but she was just existing because of the love and care of her fellow nurses. The entire family faces a lot of difficulties when they see a family member at a vegetative state. It is extremely taxing.
A member of my family who went into coma after an accident, was also under ventilation, and mind you, the trauma is unbearable.
Also, the judiciary has to be referred to provide a judgement after examining the case multiple times, which in case of India will take so much time that by then the patient would have passed away.
Euthanasia should be kept open according to varied situations after adhering to proper legal procedures by a bench of unbiased and prompt judges.
City Based Advocate: In this case, there is a thin line between crime and genuine medical condition, any king of suicide is illegal in front of the court of law. Even a foetus, that is not even born is rarely given the permission to be aborted in India.
I believe that the system is not yet matured to analyse this or give any verdict on such kind of scenario even after multiple verifications. This is entirely a paradoxical situation.
Tini Choksi: I have been through such a situation where I wanted my family member to have a peaceful death than a terrible life full of suffering.
We were just extending his life on temporary support system just to satisfy ourselves that he is alive. Such situations are brain numbing.
You cannot see him talk, eat, breathe or even see us and also neither do we have any assurance that he will recover from this state. The kind of suffering he goes through, is unimaginable.
I feel that people should be allowed to take their life decisions beforehand; to end their life if they end up going into a vegetative state.
A Medical Will should be the way ahead in such circumstances.
~~
#All views expressed in this column are the individual respondents (few names withheld/ changed on request) and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them.
Reach her at loveleen@pune365.com or tweet @KaurKaur18
- Pune’s Interesting Midnight Food Delivery Options - July 26, 2019
- Excessive Shopping Could Signal Illness- Mental Health Experts - July 15, 2019
- Chronic Stress ? Seek Professional Help Before It Takes A Toll - July 9, 2019
