HYDERABAD:The final stage of life is fraught with uncertainty, with dependence on others and a sense of losing ‘freedom’. The freedom to live the way a person would want to may no longer be possible during the senile phase, due to physical or mental ailments. This, coupled with a sense of helplessness and dependency on others, act as the major causes of suffering among the old.
In a landmark judgment recently, the Supreme Court passed an order giving legal sanction to passive euthanasia and execution of a ‘Living Will’ of persons suffering from chronic terminal diseases.
Justice DY Chandrachud said in the judgment, “The fear of pain and suffering is perhaps even greater than the apprehension of death. To be free of suffering is a liberation in itself. Hence the liberty to decide how one should be treated when the end of life is near is part of an essential attribute of personhood. Prolonging life should, but does not necessarily result in, a reduction of suffering.”
A Living Will (LW), also known as an Advance Directive, is a legal document that details a person’s desires regarding future medical treatment under circumstances of no longer being able to express informed consent.Passive euthanasia is defined to mean the withholding or withdrawing of medical treatment necessary for continuance of life. This may consist of withholding antibiotics without which the patient may die, or the removal of artificial heart/lung support. Active euthanasia, on the other hand, is the administration of a lethal substance to kill a person.
The debate on euthanasia is not new. The case of Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse who remained in a permanent vegetative state for nearly 42 years before passing away in 2015, is one of the most prominent battles fought between pro and anti euthanasia groups.However, not all are overjoyed with the judgment. Mumbai-based activists Narayan Lavate (87) and Iravati Lavate (78) have been fighting for active euthanasia, arguing that they have lived their lives fully and do not wish to be bedridden or dependent on others.
Author Atul Gawande quotes in his Being Mortal bestseller, “The waning days of our lives are given over to treatments that addle our brains and sap our bodies for a sliver’s chance of benefit. They are spent in institutions – nursing homes and intensive care units – where regimented, anonymous routines cut us off from all the things that matter to us in life. Lacking a coherent view of how people might live successfully all the way to their very end, we have allowed our fates to be controlled by the imperatives of medicine, technology, and strangers.”
Point to ponder?
— Shyam Yadagiri
shyam@newindianexpress.com
@shyamyadagiri