Law panel backs mercy killing for terminally ill

Taking the first step towards legalizing euthanasia or mercy killing, the Law Commission has decided to recommend to the government to allow terminally ill to end their lives to relieve them of long suffering.

Euthanasia, literally meaning 'good death’ in ancient Greek but popularly referred to as mercy killing, had been a taboo word in India though it is allowed in some western countries under the assistance of physicians. It allows those whose death is virtually certain to avoid their painful journey to the end.

The core of the recommendation to make euthanasia legal stems from several SC judgments which ruled that 'life does not mean animal existence’. "If a person is unable to take normal care of his body or has lost all the senses and if his real desire is to quit the world, he cannot be compelled to continue with torture and painful life. In such cases, it will indeed be cruel not to permit him to die," says the report, receiving final touches from Commission chairman Justice A R Lakshmanan.

"Hence, a terminally ill man or man in a persistent vegetative state can be permitted to terminate it by premature extinction of life," says the report which is likely to be submitted to the government in the next couple of weeks.

Explaining the step towards legalizing euthanasia in India, Commission sources say the majority of its members feel that permission to prematurely end an extremely painful life would only accelerate the process of death which has already commenced. "In such cases, causing death would result in end of his sufferings," the sources said. Aware that premature end of life would not be approved by Indian society, the panel explained: "When an individual is suffering from incurable disease or severe pain, mercy killing should be permitted to see that his agony comes to an end."

The Commission also proposes another radical reform — decriminalize attempt to suicide. This means the panel is recommending deletion of Section 309 of the IPC, which punishes a person who survives an attempt to end life with one year imprisonment and a fine.

Justice Lakshmanan and other members of the Commission feel that it is of no gain to punish a person, who under extreme duress decides to end his life but survives in the attempt. The recommendation to repeal Section 309 was earlier made by the Law Commission in 1971, which was accepted by the government. Steps were initiated to amend the IPC, but the move fell through in 1972.

In 1994, a two-judge bench of SC termed the provision unconstitutional, but two years later a five-judge constitution bench upheld its validity making attempt to suicide an offence. "Those who attempt suicide are distressed and in psychological pain and for them to face the ignominy of police interrogation heightens the distress, shame, guilt and further suicide attempt," he feels.