In death she holds the record of the longest-staying patient in any hospital in the country. In life, she had been gone a long time since the night of November 27, 1973, when she was sodomised by a hospital ward boy. A chain he tied around her neck cut oxygen supply to her brain, leaving her in a vegetative state. She was kept alive by a band of nurses who fed and bathed her. In Ward No 4 of KEM hospital, with a relay of nurses taking care of her, Aruna Shanbaug lay waiting for 42 years till death claimed her as one of its own.
Shanbaug’s death has once again sparked a debate on the Right to Life. More specifically, the Right to Terminate Life.
In Ward No 4, in the King Edward Memorial hospital, breathing in a bed, with a relay of nurses taking care of her, Aruna Shanbaug lay waiting for 42 years after a brutal assault by a ward boy left her in a vegetative state, till death claimed her as one of its own.
Gone too is playwright Vinay Apte who had directed the play, Katha Arunachi (Aruna’s Life), enacting what the laws of the country expressly forbid -- letting the very nurse who took care of Shanbaug administer a lethal injection, setting her free of the challenges that life threw at her.
Apte died two years ago. His play ran to packed houses for 12 long years. He had once remarked, “I wanted to set her free.”
He did not wait to see Shanbaug free. In the spring of 2011, that saw Supreme Court judges Marjkandey Katju and Gyansudha Mishra uphold the right to life, petitioner Vinki Virani, no relation of Shanbaugh, moved by her plight, thought it fit to seek the court’s intervention to set Shanbaugh free.
The nurses who had adopted Shanbaug as one of their own, were upset when they saw an outsider stake claim to her and protested and put forward a defence for life that moved the court. Their commitment led the court to observe, “We also commend the entire staff of KEM Hospital, Mumbai (including the retired staff) for their noble spirit and outstanding, exemplary and unprecedented dedication in taking care of Aruna for so many long years. Every Indian is proud of them.”
Supreme Court guidelines on Euthanasia
Active euthanasia: Administering of lethal injection to snuff out life is illegal in India
Passive euthanasia: Withdrawing life support, treatment or nutrition that would allow a person to live, was legalised by way of SC guidelines in 2011.
Parents, spouse, close kin, "next friend" can decide, in best interests of the patient, to discontinue life support. The decision must be approved by a HC. In dealing with such a plea ,
- Chief Justice of High Court must create a Bench of at least 2 judges to reach a decision.
- Bench must nominate three reputed doctors
- A copy of the doctors's panel report must be provided to close kin and State govt. Only then can verdict be reached.
- - Aruna Shanbaug was brutally assaulted and raped by a wardboy-cum-sweeper of the hospital, Sohanlal Bharta Valmiki who throttled her with a dog chain. The brutal assault cut off blood and oxygen supply to key parts of her brain.
- - Valmiki is sentenced to six years in prison. He is released in 1980.
- - Pinki Virani, author of 'Aruna's Story', moves court seeking a peaceful death for Aruna and that the force-feeding be stopped
- - Supreme Court rejects petition. The petition was opposed by the hospital's management and nursing staff.
- - Aruna Shanbaug dies
>To live and to let go
Even as the Supreme Court considers the need for living wills, a new documentary film looks at the factors that haunt the issue of passive mercy killing.
>Of mercy and ending life
"We could have dismissed the petition [because]… the right to life guaranteed the Constitution does not include right to die"
>Who has the last word?
Legal experts and medical activists share their thoughts on the implications of the landmark judgment.
>The right to death
There is no point referring to ‘our values', since values are not to be seen as ours, yours or theirs; they are humane in essence.
