Right to die

The Union health ministry has submitted new guidelines on passive euthanasia restarting the discussion on the right to die

- SHUTAPA PAUL

Some illnesses are such that they don't claim lives immediately. But over an extended period of time, little by little accompanied by unbearable pain and ignominy, the disease eats away at human life and dignity. At the cost of sounding morbid, as much as I want to have a life well-lived, I am obsessed with respectability in old age and death. Before my eyes, I have seen productive human beings transformed into human vegetables, or experiencing unimaginable bodily and mental agony every day. Should human beings who have no hope of improvement continue to live in unending misery and suffering? It seems almost cruel to bestow upon their unwilling selves a half-life. The debate on the right to life and death through active euthanasia, will remain an ongoing one.