Trapped alive

The Law Commission’s recommendation that euthanasia or mercy killing be made legal have experts wondering if anything will happen soon. Sanghamitra Bhowmik investigates  

 Seventy-five-year-old Ravindra Mishra’s daily routine for the last four years, since his wife Sarita (69) collapsed after a brain haemorrhage, has been the same: Cleaning her, feeding her, giving her medication and then cleaning her again before calling it a day. He often wonders how Sarita would’ve wanted to live her last years — as a vegetable or a human. “The answer is always as a human. If she could choose Sarita would have chosen death,” says Ravindra, who flew in last month from Delhi for a quiet meeting with Dr Surendra Dhelia of Society for the Right to Die with Dignity (SRDD).
 
His request: “Is there anyway I can eliminate my wife so that she may stop suffering.” A cold blooded request, many would say, but Ravindra’s situation isn’t uncommon. Terminally ill patients and their relatives have been demanding their right to say no to prolonged life for a while now. But the recent case of Hyderabad boy K Venkatesh to terminate his life so that his organs can be donated has sparked a fresh interest in euthanasia.

So much so that CPI member CK Chandrappan introduced a Euthanasia Permission and Regulation Bill in the Lok Sabha last year. Although pending, the Bill if passed, hopes to allow the legal killing of any patient who is deemed incurable. Following suit, the Law Commission too recommended the legalising of voluntary euthanasia, or mercy killing, for terminally ill patients with a desire to exit the world. All this, says Ravindra, “gives me hope.”

“A hope that may remain so for a long time,” says KK Jhingan, general manager, Common Cause, which submitted a writ petition in the Supreme Court requesting to declare Right to Die with Dignity as a fundamental right. The petition also includes: Allowing terminally ill people to execute a Living Will that can be executed by artificial means at a time when he/she does not wish to prolong life; appointment of an expert committee of doctors, lawyers and sociologists to evaluate such cases and guidelines on ways to perform euthanasia.   

“A Bill or a recommendation is hardly binding on the government. There is taboo associated with euthanasia. We heard that a notice has been sent to the government but there is fear that the law can be misused,” says Jhingan.

A medico-legal issue, doctors agree that euthanasia is unofficially practised. “Most doctors at some point have practiced euthanasia. But since it is illegal, they cannot say so. Legalising it would make the procedure more transparent,” says Dr Dhelia.

“We often get requests from families saying ‘please do not give aggressive treatment’. And not giving aggressive treatment is a form of euthanasia. Making it legal will help,” says cardiologist Dr Sadanand Shetty, “This will also also benefit cases of people, who are brain dead as we can harvest the organs of a person.”  

Literally meaning ‘good death’ in ancient Greek, euthanasia has numerous medical, legal, social and religious implications. At the heart lies Article 22 of the Indian Constitution and our fundamental right to life. Introducing euthanasia will therefore mean changing the fundamental rights. Section 306 (attempt to commit suicide) and Section 309 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code too would have to be abolished. “Care will have to be taken that the provisions aren’t misused,” says lawyer Majeed Memon.

However, the medical fraternity is divided in opinion. While some like cardiologist Shetty support the idea, many like Dr Bhaskar Dutta say, “There are several horror stories in countries that have legalised euthanasia. What’s to say the same won’t happen in India? It might lead to an organ transplant racket or just a way of not offering medical treatment to the poor.”

A legal procedure, a medical concept or a social change — euthanasia is set to change the way people die but until then Ravindra will just have to pray as he often does, “Take her Lord or make her well.”
b_sanghamitra@dnaindia.net