The Choice To Die With Dignity

This article is about choice. By the end of this article, I would expect you to have two reactions; either of understanding or of disbelief that I dared to talk about it. This is going to be hard for me to write about and for you to read as well. However, it deserves to be talked about and there is no better time than now.

You might already know by now but let me repeat it. The Supreme Court of India has now passed a landmark verdict, which allows the withdrawal of life support for those individuals that are terminally ill or those, who have been in a comatose state for an extended period of time. The bench of judges, including Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said, “When the sanctity of life is destroyed, should we not allow them to cross the door and meet death with dignity? For some, even their death could be a moment of celebration.”

This landmark verdict comes in lieu of a woman, Aruna Shanbaug, who after surviving a rape, lived 37 years in a comatose stage before finally passing away in 2015.  It is a moment of grave importance because it gives some unfortunate souls a “choice” to die with “dignity.” However, it’s a battle half won. What the court has finally allowed is passive euthanasia and not the active one. What is the difference?

Passive Euthanasia vs Active Euthanasia

Passive euthanasia is where one withdraws medical support from a person, who has been suffering from a terminal ailment and is surviving solely on life support or is in a comatose state. Here you don’t take the choice to end his/her suffering and the person dies eventually. In active euthanasia, you end a terminally ill person’s pain by ending his life.  Also, there is a provision for a person to write a living will, in sound body and mind instructing family/peers/caretakers to end his/her life, when life support is what is keeping him/her alive for an extended period of time.

Now, there are some moral as well as religious questions here that can’t be avoided. So, let us get into it? The basic summation is that every life is precious and, therefore, no one has the right to terminate it. Firstly, yes, life is precious and no one should even think about terminating it, but these are not people who are living in joy every day. They are standing on the brink of life and death. The prime objective is to end the agony and to not live in pain day in and day out, till death finally comes and ends it all. I am not going to leave room for debate on why some religions allow it and why some don’t. It’s futile to talk about religion and soul, when it’s a person’s will and his/her life that is being discussed about. We are not, and we should not let religion take precedence over our own humanity and freedom of choice.

A Battle Half Won

Now, why is it a battle half won? Because it doesn’t give a provision to people who are suffering, but are not on life support; for example the people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s, where the mind slowly starts to forget everything, finally reaching a stage where they can’t even recall basic functions, such as walking or holding a glass of water in their hands. Also there are people such as Narayan Lavate, who along with his wife, had championed for active euthanasia, also known as “assisted suicide.” Lavate is an octogenarian, who doesn’t have a terminal disease and neither is he in a comatose disease. However, he had requested the President of India to carry out state assisted suicide because with age his and his wife’s bodies are getting frail and slowly succumbing to ailments, which are not terminal but are excruciating.

He is, therefore, not happy with the SC ruling, and said “Even now, the court or the government or even the President can consider our case individually and allow us to end our lives peacefully and with dignity.”

Lavate is not suicidal and there is logic in his statement, even if it might be hard for some to digest. In an interview with TOI, he said, “What is the use of living further? We have no purpose. And beyond 75 years of age, you fall prey to various ailments and infirmities.” 

What Lavate stated is not wrong because by principle we are the masters of our own self and this is a condition or an age where a person can take the choice. However, India doesn’t allow it. In fact, very few states and countries do allow it.

Countries Allowing Active Euthanasia

 It is permissible in the Netherlands, Belgium, Colombia, Luxembourg and Canada. Assisted suicide, on the other hand, is legal in Switzerland, Germany, Japan, the American states of Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Vermont, Montana, California and in Washington, DC.

Famous Examples Of Active Euthanasia

Active euthanasia or “assisted suicide” has been a hotly debated topic in the past. Some of the principal voices asking for it have been that of the famous author Terry Pratchett. Britain’s acclaimed novelist in 2011 made a BBC documentary titled Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die. It covered the final moments of a British millionaire, who, after developing a motor neuron disease, went to Switzerland to die as his own country doesn’t allow euthanasia in any form.  Pratchett himself passed away in 2015 at the age of 66 after struggling with a rare strain of Alzheimer’s.

Another incident is of Michele Causse, who decided to end her life at the age of 74 via assisted suicide in front of a live camera crew in Switzerland, as a protest to her native land of France, which didn’t support it. This is not something that is only for people that have reached a certain age and are battling physical ailments. Emily, a 24-year-old Belgian woman, had opted for “assisted suicide” after going through severe mental depression for years, from which there was no turning back.

Choice For Few, Debate For All?

It is not a philosophical, religious or moral debate. It’s a matter of choice and what we want to do with our own body. I am not going to make the decision for you; however, what I will do is ask you to watch some movies. We are a movie loving nation; so maybe this will help. Watch, “You Don’t Know Jack”, “Million Dollar Baby”, “The Sea Inside”, “The Suicide Tourist” and finally our very own “Guzaarish.”

To wrap it up, as I said in the very beginning, if you are at pain, would you or would you not like to have the choice to end your life?