well this is something which feel strongly about and want to write and be read. i know its coming after a longtime but this is important.. i wrote it for my portfolio that i was suppose to submit in my clg nd now i m making it visible to everyone i hope it makes some difference
She cannot move, she cannot sit, she cannot speak, she cannot hear, she cannot see, She is BRAIN DEAD.
She suffers from atrophying bones, the joints at her fingers, her wrists, knees, ankles are bent inwards & to try straightening them causes her pain. She suffers emotional trauma, so much so that it results in inappropriate laughter & bouts of screaming. Her memory & most of her other mental faculties are gone. She continues to live in this neither-alive-nor-dead existence for the past 36 years, reacting to stimuli yet unable to otherwise communicate. Forced to be fed Aruna Shaunbag lives. But can this be called “Life”? Can one person live without being able to move, see, hear, feel or follow the other necessary conditions of living? Article 21 of Indian constitution states what living is and Aruna shaunbag doesn’t even fulfill those criteria. But still we cannot grant her a death with dignity. No doctor can bring her life back to normal and nor can we free her of her misery, we cannot or rather would not grant her EUTHANASIA.
Life is very unpredictable. Aruna would never have thought that on her wedding day she would be tied up in dog chains, raped and tortured brutally by a ward boy, about whom she was going to complain as she had caught him cheating. Today wherever and in whatever state she lives, I bet we can’t even stay there for a minute. Try to imagine…getting inside a box where you can fit in half, open it from above and just lie down there. Try lying down for minimum 10 minutes. Try moving, eating, sleeping or even speaking. You’ll experience 36 years of Aruna’s life, with the benefit of being able to watch, speak, shout for help, feel and dream or at least breathe properly. I bet those 10 minutes will seem like a punishment but imagine if people or society around us does not allow you to get out of that box, it does not allow you your freedom and says this is illegal, punishable and offensive. How would you feel??? Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while we live.
What is euthanasia exactly?? The precise definition of euthanasia is "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering." The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek word “euthanatos” meaning “well death” and originally referred to intentional mercy killing. In the modern context euthanasia is limited to the killing of patients by doctors at the request of the patient in order to free him of excruciating pain or from terminal illness. But our Indian law does not allow euthanasia. There are many “subs” to it but still we will not allow one to get him/her free of their suffering.
But I say why not, why can’t we…by allowing passive euthanasia or rejecting pleas till when can we wait for that miracle to happen in this 60yr olds life and let her live or I would rather say suffer in this “persistent vegetative state”. Who is to be blamed??? Who can answer these question and when???
Our society, It is scared, our law is scared, scared of being misused, scared of being held wrongfully. They say anyone with slightest conditions of depression will plea for euthanasia if it is made legal. But then I say what is our law for, our courts, judges for, they are sitting there to see the situation and make decisions but the reality remains that our constitution, our law, our society is scared. I say shame on us, shame on our critiques, government, politics and social activists who can’t make correct decisions and grant people a peaceful life, if not more!!!
She cannot move, she cannot sit, she cannot speak, she cannot hear, she cannot see, She is BRAIN DEAD.
She suffers from atrophying bones, the joints at her fingers, her wrists, knees, ankles are bent inwards & to try straightening them causes her pain. She suffers emotional trauma, so much so that it results in inappropriate laughter & bouts of screaming. Her memory & most of her other mental faculties are gone. She continues to live in this neither-alive-nor-dead existence for the past 36 years, reacting to stimuli yet unable to otherwise communicate. Forced to be fed Aruna Shaunbag lives. But can this be called “Life”? Can one person live without being able to move, see, hear, feel or follow the other necessary conditions of living? Article 21 of Indian constitution states what living is and Aruna shaunbag doesn’t even fulfill those criteria. But still we cannot grant her a death with dignity. No doctor can bring her life back to normal and nor can we free her of her misery, we cannot or rather would not grant her EUTHANASIA.
Life is very unpredictable. Aruna would never have thought that on her wedding day she would be tied up in dog chains, raped and tortured brutally by a ward boy, about whom she was going to complain as she had caught him cheating. Today wherever and in whatever state she lives, I bet we can’t even stay there for a minute. Try to imagine…getting inside a box where you can fit in half, open it from above and just lie down there. Try lying down for minimum 10 minutes. Try moving, eating, sleeping or even speaking. You’ll experience 36 years of Aruna’s life, with the benefit of being able to watch, speak, shout for help, feel and dream or at least breathe properly. I bet those 10 minutes will seem like a punishment but imagine if people or society around us does not allow you to get out of that box, it does not allow you your freedom and says this is illegal, punishable and offensive. How would you feel??? Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while we live.
What is euthanasia exactly?? The precise definition of euthanasia is "a deliberate intervention undertaken with the express intention of ending a life, to relieve intractable suffering." The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek word “euthanatos” meaning “well death” and originally referred to intentional mercy killing. In the modern context euthanasia is limited to the killing of patients by doctors at the request of the patient in order to free him of excruciating pain or from terminal illness. But our Indian law does not allow euthanasia. There are many “subs” to it but still we will not allow one to get him/her free of their suffering.
But I say why not, why can’t we…by allowing passive euthanasia or rejecting pleas till when can we wait for that miracle to happen in this 60yr olds life and let her live or I would rather say suffer in this “persistent vegetative state”. Who is to be blamed??? Who can answer these question and when???
Our society, It is scared, our law is scared, scared of being misused, scared of being held wrongfully. They say anyone with slightest conditions of depression will plea for euthanasia if it is made legal. But then I say what is our law for, our courts, judges for, they are sitting there to see the situation and make decisions but the reality remains that our constitution, our law, our society is scared. I say shame on us, shame on our critiques, government, politics and social activists who can’t make correct decisions and grant people a peaceful life, if not more!!!
