The past few days have seen tens of thousands of reports of the case of 60 yr old Aruna Shanbaug; a nurse in KEM hospital who was brutally assaulted, sodomized and left to die by a ward boy of the hospital. 37 years down, she is alive so to speak. The attack left her unable to move, talk or speak. Kudos to those nurse of KEM who have looked after her for nearly 4 decades. The recent petition filed in the SC by Pinki Virani dug out the old and never dying topic of euthanasia.
I know my views on euthanasia as a subject but in the case of Aruna that is so complicated, where she feels pain, smiles (at times) when called out to.. is that really a solution. I guess euthanasia does require a strong will and mind to see the person you cared for, die because you decided to pull the plug. Are we strong enough ??? i believe that is why the nurses in KEM hospital refuse to give up on her and celebrate the SC verdict on life for Aruna. So many different ways of looking at this.. what would i do if i had to see my loved one go through a similar situation, if he/she had no reaction, emotion, feeling; if his/her life was being prolong on machines and feeding tubes ?? is it fair to prolong their life bcoz i can't see them go ?? is it right to see them suffer ??
My grandma always said death should come peacefully, like it did for my granddad. I may sound cold as i take forward her thoughts and say life should be quality life as we live, else what difference would it make if we are here or not. Why be in a coma state with no reactions and feeling and still continue to "live". It saddens your family around you to see you that way, and i am sure in your heart you would never want to live that way.. They say life is a gift, live it well... so i ask if a life similar to what Aruna ( and many others across the globe ) is living is a gift, do we want it ??
India has taken a big stand by putting forward the idea of passive euthanasia; but i still wonder - are we emotionally ready to pull the plug ??
