The
Supreme Court of India has reserved its verdict on a plea for mercy killing of
a Mumbai nurse Aruna shanbaug who has been living a vegetative existence in a
hospital for the last 37 years after she was violently attacked by a hospital
sweeper who also sexually abused her.
A
Bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Mishra reserved the verdict
after hearing detailed arguments by various parties on the question of allowing
euthanasia for Nurse Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug, who slipped into coma after
the brutal attack on her at Mumbai's King
Edward Memorial
Hospital.
Several
counsel who made submissions on the controversial issue of permitting mercy
killing included Attorney General G E Vahanvati, amicus curiae T R
Andhyarujina, Ballabh Sisodia for the hospital and Shekhar Naphade appearing
for the petitioner and author Pinky Virani, who had sought permission for
Aruna's mercy killing.
The story of Euthanasia
Euthanasia (from the Greek εὐθανασία meaning "good
death": εὖ, eu (well or good) + θάνατος, thanatos (death)) refers to the practice of
ending a life in a manner which relieves pain and suffering. According to the House of Lords Select Committee on Medical
Ethics, the precise definition of euthanasia is "a deliberate intervention
undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable
suffering."
Euthanasia
is categorized in different ways, which include voluntary, non-voluntary, or
involuntary and active or passive. Euthanasia is usually used to refer to
active euthanasia, and in this sense, euthanasia is usually considered to be
criminal homicide, but voluntary, passive euthanasia is widely non-criminal.
The
controversy surrounding euthanasia centers on a two-pronged argument by
opponents which characterizes euthanasia as either voluntary
"suicides", or as involuntary murders.
(Hence, opponents argue that a broad policy of "euthanasia" is
tantamount to eugenics). Eugenics is the
"applied science or the biosocial
movement which advocates the use of practices
aimed at improving the genetic
composition of a population," usually referring to human populations.
Much
hinges on whether a particular death was considered an "easy",
"painless", or "happy" one, or whether it was a
"wrongful death". Proponents typically consider a death that
increased suffering to be "wrongful", while opponents typically
consider any deliberate death as "wrongful". "Euthanasia's"
original meaning introduced the idea of a "rightful death" beyond
that only found in natural
deaths.
Etymology
Like
other terms borrowed from history, the "euthanasia" has had different
meanings depending on usage. The first apparent usage of the term
"euthanasia" belongs to the historian Suetonius who described how the Emperor Augustus, "dying quickly and
without suffering in the arms of his wife, Livia, experienced the 'euthanasia'
he had wished for."
The
word "euthanasia" was first used in a medical context by Francis Bacon in the 17th century, to refer to an
easy, painless, happy death, during which it was a "physician's
responsibility to alleviate the 'physical sufferings' of the body." Bacon
referred to an "outward euthanasia"—the term "outward" he
used to distinguish from a spiritual concept—the euthanasia "which regards
the preparation of the soul."
Classification of euthanasia
Euthanasia
may be classified according to whether a person gives informed consent into three types: voluntary,
non-voluntary and involuntary.
There
is a debate within the medical and bioethics literature about whether or not
the non-voluntary (and by extension, involuntary) killing of patients can be
regarded as euthanasia, irrespective of intent or the patient's circumstances.
In the definitions offered by Beauchamp & Davidson and, later, by Wreen,
consent on the part of the patient was not considered to be one of their
criteria. However, others see
consent as essential. For example, in a discussion of euthanasia presented in
2003 by the European Association of Palliative Care (EPAC) Ethics Task Force,
the authors offered the unambiguous statement: Medicalized killing of a person
without the person's consent, whether no voluntary (where the person in unable
to consent) or involuntary (against the person's will) is not euthanasia: it is
murder. Hence, euthanasia can be voluntary only.
Voluntary euthanasia
Euthanasia
conducted with the consent of the patient is termed voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary
euthanasia is legal in Belgium,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland,
and the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington.
When the patient brings about his or her own death with the assistance of a
physician, the term assisted
suicide is often used instead.
Non-voluntary euthanasia
Euthanasia
conducted where the consent of the patient is unavailable is termed non-voluntary euthanasia. Examples
include child euthanasia, which
is illegal worldwide but decriminalized under certain specific circumstances in
the Netherlands
under the Groningen Protocol.
Involuntary euthanasia
Euthanasia
conducted against the will of the patient is termed involuntary euthanasia.
Procedural decision
Voluntary,
non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia can all be further divided into
passive or active variants. A
number of authors consider these terms to be misleading and unhelpful.
Passive euthanasia
Passive
euthanasia entails the withholding of common treatments, such as antibiotics,
necessary for the continuance of life.
Active euthanasia
Active
euthanasia entails the use of lethal substances or forces to kill and is the
most controversial means.
Legal status
West's
Encyclopedia of American Law states that "a 'mercy killing' or euthanasia
is generally considered to be a criminal homicide"and is normally used as
a synonym of homicide committed at a request made by the patient.
The
judicial sense of the term "homicide" includes any intervention
undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, even to relieve
intractable suffering. Not all homicide is unlawful. Two designations of homicide that carry
no criminal punishment are justifiable and excusable homicide. In most countries this is not the
status of euthanasia. The term "euthanasia" is usually confined to
the active variety; the University
of Washington website
states that "euthanasia generally means that the physician would act
directly, for instance by giving a lethal injection, to end the patient's
life". Physician-assisted
suicide is thus not classified as
euthanasia by the US State of
Oregon, where it is legal under the Oregon
Death with Dignity Act, and despite its name, it is not legally classified as
suicide either. Unlike
physician-assisted suicide, withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining
treatments with patient consent (voluntary) is almost unanimously considered,
at least in the United
States, to be legal. The use of pain medication in order to
relieve suffering, even if it hastens death, has been held as legal in several
court decisions.Some governments around the world have legalized voluntary
euthanasia but generally it remains as a criminal homicide. In the Netherlands and Belgium, where euthanasia has been
legalized, it still remains homicide although it is not prosecuted and not
punishable if the perpetrator (the doctor) meets certain legal exceptions.
Physician sentiment
A survey
in the United States
of more than 10,000 physicians came to the result that approximately 16% of
physicians would ever consider halting life-sustaining therapy because the
family demands it, even if believed that it was premature. Approximately 55% would
not, and for the remaining 29%, it would depend on circumstances. This study
also stated that approx. 46% of physicians agree that physician-assisted
suicide should be allowed in some cases; 41% do not, and the remaining 14%
think it depends.
Courtesy: Wikipedia, Indian Express
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