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India High Court Rules On Euthanasia

   Anjana Pasricha | New Delhi  March 07, 2011
   Aruna  Shanbaug, the woman at the center of a Supreme Court euthanasia
   case in India

   Aruna Shanbaug, the woman at the center India's euthanasia movement.

   Indiaās Supreme Court ruled on Monday that life support can be removed
   for  some  terminally  ill  patients,  allowing  what  is being called
   "passive euthanasia."

   The  court  however rejected a plea to end the life of a woman who has
   been in a vegetative state for 37 years. Anjana
   The  Supreme  Court  judgment  came  in  connection with the case of a
   former  nurse, Aruna Shanbaug, who has been lying in a Mumbai hospital
   since she was brutally raped in 1973 at the age of 23.
   The assault resulted in severe brain damage and paralysis. Since then,
   Shanbaug  has  been  in  a vegetative state, which is different from a
   coma  because it means she is "clinically"Ā  awake. She is fed twice a
   day by nurses.
   The  Supreme Court rejected a plea by a journalist that she should not
   be  fed,  and  be allowed to die with dignity. The journalist, who has
   written a book about her, said she was virtually dead.
   In a report to the Court, doctors who are caring for her said Shanbaug
   responds  by  facial  expressions.  The  Supreme  Court  said that the
   journalist could not make the demand on her behalf.
   Shanbaugās  parents died many years ago and relatives have not been in
   touch.
   But  in a significant observation, the Supreme Court said that doctors
   and  nurses  could petition to remove life support for some terminally
   ill patients, provided the request is supervised by High Courts.
   The  Court  said that so-called "active euthanasia" is illegal. But it
   said "passive euthanasia," which essentially means the removal of life
   support, is permissible.
   Responding  to  the  Supreme  Courtās  ruling,  Indiaās  law  Minister
   Veerappa  Moily  said a serious debate is needed on the wider issue of
   euthanasia. He said there are no easy answers.
   "There  is  no  law to grant any such permission," he said. "This is a
   very  serious matter. We need to understand it in a world context, and
   also  in  the  context  of (the) attitude "we need to examine with all
   angles."
   Many  lawyers  and  doctors  have  expressed  support  for the Supreme
   Courtās  ruling  on  passive  euthanasia. They say this will help some
   terminally-ill patients.
   The  ruling  is  likely  to  spark  a  fresh  debate on the subject of
   euthanasia,  which  is  illegal in India.Ā  There are some concerns it
   could be misused if legalized.

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