‘No sanctity in suffering; nothing holy about agony’

The title of this article comes from a poignant piece written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu when asked to comment upon assisted dying or on what is commonly known as ‘euthanasia’. The views of the Archbishop come in the background of the ongoing vociferous debate in the House of Lords on Lord Falconer's assisted dying bill. In a nutshell, Lord Falconer’s proposed legislation would make it legal for a doctor to hand over a lethal medication to a terminally ill patient who is believed to have less than six months to live. It further seeks to evolve a legal mechanism over an issue which has consistently been put to scrutiny and discussion over the course of time and yet has failed to evoke a consistent response/reaction from the community at large.Euthanasia is the intentional premature termination of another person’s life either by direct intervention (active euthanasia) or by withholding life-prolonging measures and resources (passive euthanasia), either at the express or implied request of that person (voluntary euthanasia), or in the absence of such approval (non-voluntary euthanasia). It is non-voluntary euthanasia that has forever been the primary reason to oppose mercy killing as opponents of the idea have regularly said (and rightfully so, if I may add) that mercy and killing do not go together, no matter what the circumstances. They further cite religion as a source to support their theory which espouses the line of thought on life being a gift from God, is sacred in nature and He alone possesses the right to extinguish it. In the thirteenth century, Saint Thomas Aquinas, a renowned Catholic Theologian and philosopher, condemned suicide as wrong because it contravenes one's duty to oneself and because it violates God's authority over life, which is God's gift. Such opinions emanating from the ages have deeply impacted the modern day views of individuals opposing mercy killing and equating it to medical termination of pregnancy; the underlying principle being that both involve voluntary ending of life and should not be left to the whims and fancies of the individual preferring such an option.Under the Indian Law, the Courts have forever struck down petitions by terminally ill petitions seeking a peaceful death with dignity so as to not harangue their kith and kin during times of their ‘invalidity’. The rationale given by the Courts while dismissing such petitions has forever been of favoring life over everything else and how it would tantamount to legalizing suicide (under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, attempt to commit suicide is an offence punishable with imprisonment/fine/both). In certain instances, the Courts have directed for the medical practitioners to desist from assisted death practices as a way to uphold the sacred Hippocratic oath which prohibits them from ‘killing’ any person under their watch. Nevertheless, a judgment delivered by the Apex Court in 2011 reopened the debate over mercy killing more so because the Hon’ble Court managed to draw a fine line between what would constitute as ‘active’ and ‘passive’ euthanasia under the Indian context and how the latter would not be termed illegal or as a ‘positive act of killing.’The moving tale of Aruna Ramchandra Shanbaug, a staff nurse at K.E.M Hospital of Bombay, grabbed national headlines when on the eve of 27th November 1973, she was brutally raped by a sweeper in the hospital who wrapped a dog chain around her neck and yanked her back with it. A gruesome act of this nature ensured that Shanbaug suffered irreversible brain damage as the supply of oxygen to the brain stopped. Medical inspection further indicated damage to the cortex and some other part of the brain. Resultantly, Shanbaug lost her ability to see, hear or feel anything and such has been her state for the past 39 years now. She slipped into PVS or persistent vegetative state and is practically a dead person having no state of awareness, with her brain being virtually dead. The petition before the Apex Court was preferred by Ms. Pinki Virani who had documented Aruna’s life in a book and was following her case history since 1980. Her prayer before the Apex Court was to allow Aruna to die peacefully by ordering for cessation of medical care extended to her by the doctors and staff at KEM Hospital. However, the counsel for the hospital was unequivocal in denying death to Aruna on behest of the Court and elucidated various instances wherein the patient communicated in gestures her aversion/interest to certain foods, sounds and people which only went on to suggest that there existed life within her and by allowing for euthanasia to be administered, the Hon’ble Court would order for termination of life and thereby set a dangerous precedent for all critically ill patients.In a landmark judgment, covering a sensitive topic like mercy killing, the Supreme Court went on distinguish between ‘active’ and ‘passive’ euthanasia and held that causing the death of a person who is in a...

‘No sanctity in suffering; nothing holy about agony’

Smrithi Suresh

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