The Most Unfortunate Demand Ever Made By a Mother: Please Kill My Daughter.

Monday.It was 11.00 a.m It was the day for hearing grievances. There was a long queue in the Erode Collectorate. Jaya was standing in the queue for a few hours with a petition. She was visibly upset. At times tears rolled over her cheeks. At last at 02.00 p.m she could meet the collector and handed over her petition. When the District Collector went through her petition, he was shocked. ‘What? You want to kill your daughter by using euthanasia?’ ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘Why?’ ‘My daughter is Madhumitha, a 14 year old girl; she is suffering from cerebral palsy. She can neither walk nor stand, but she can always sit in a wheel chair when I assist her or lie in a bed. She can neither speak nor hear, nor she can recognize me or you, but only thing she could do is crying silently. I could recognize her crying through the tears rolled down in her cheeks. I cannot see my daughter’s sufferings; I cannot see her any more in such a condition; I have already managed to keep her alive for over 14 years in the very same condition without any improvement. We have repeatedly tried to admit her in any one of the rehabilitation centers. But we failed. I cannot see her sufferings. I cannot see her crying. Please help me to kill her through Euthanasia.’ The District Collector felt sorry for her. ‘Of course, it is a most pathetic and pitiful case. But we are helpless and powerless. What we can do is consider your case most sympathetically and get your daughter admitted in any one of the cerebral palsy rehabilitation centers.’ ‘We have been unsuccessfully trying it for the past several years. Despite showing sympathy, they refused to admit her in their rehabilitation centers since my daughter could neither walk nor move .nor she could identify people. I mean she has no responses to stimuli. How long can she suffer. How long we as her parents see her sufferings? Please kill her through euthanasia…’ The District Collector again intervened, ‘Is she not getting any monetary assistance from the Government? ‘Of course, she is getting only Rs 1000/- which is hardly sufficient to meet her medical expenses alone. My hubby is a carpenter. I am only a house wife. In addition to mental torture, we cannot afford to spend more money for her. Above all we cannot see her crying without even knowing the reasons. Nor we can console her. Even if we make any attempt to stop her crying, she does not respond or recognize what we are trying to do for her. So we are helpless...Please help us.' ‘No, …law does not permit it. We can at the most try to admit her in a cerebral palsy rehabilitation center. Our hospital psychiatrist also feels so. Nor we can provide any additional monetary assistance. There is no rule. What to do? Jaya returned back to her home terribly disappointed only to see her daughter lying in a bed,tears rolling down her cheeks profusely. …… Euthanasia has always been a subject of controversy.Recently the Supreme Court of India dealt with a similar case wherein the petitioner demanded for a mercy killing of Aruna, once a famous dancer. After hearing the forceful arguments of the counsel for the petitioner, the Supreme Court finally yielded to pass a verdict suggesting passive euthanasia against such cases, besides laying down guidelines for applying passive euthanasia. By suggesting passive euthanasia, the Supreme Court of India meant to stop attending such patients and thereby allowing them a gradual and natural deterioration in their health leading to their death in the near future. Can Jaya apply passive Euthanasia to her daughter Madhumitha?Your views are most welcome.