CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has constituted a three-member independent committee to suggest experts examine a nine-year-old child, who was suffering from the persistent vegetative state from birth and file a report. The boy’s father had moved the court seeking permission for Euthanasia.
The panel, constituted by a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and S Baskaran, would consist of neurosurgeon Reginald, Pediatrician P Ramachandran, Central Government Health Scheme Chief Medical Officer Uma Maheshwari. They have been asked to suggest names of the experts within two weeks.
In his writ petition, Thirumeni of Kattumannarkoil submitted that his son Paavendhan, who is not only in a vegetative state for a decade, but also suffers epileptic seizures ranging between 10 to 20 times a day when controlled by medicines. The maximum number of such attacks he had suffered on a single day was 150, his counsel N Kavitha told the judges.
Thirumeni, a tailor, managed to spend ` 10,000 per month towards medical expenses of his son all these years with the hope that the latter would lead a normal life. Since all doctors had concurred there was absolutely no scope of recovery, as the damage to brain was total, he wanted the court to permit him to withdraw all forms of food, nutrition and medicine to his son and smoothen his process of dying.
The plea gains significance in view of the Supreme Court judgment on March 18 saying that fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to live with dignity till the end and it therefore includes the right to die with dignity.