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Intending Death: the Dilemmas of Mercy Killing

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Intending Death: the Dilemmas of Mercy Killing INTENDING DEATH: THE DILEMMAS OF MERCY KILLING A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE NORTH BENGAL UNIVERSITY FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY BY BHASWATI DE GUIDE DR. DEBIKA SAHA DEPARTMENT OF STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY NORTH BENGAL UNIVERSITY NOVEMBER, 2014 Dedicated with love to my soul-mate Dr. Puspendu Chaki & My little Son Pinak Pani, who always asks, “Why MumMum?” Pluck this little flower and Take it, delay not! I fear lest it droop And drop into the dust. It may not find a place In thy garland, But honour it with a touch of pain From thy hand and pluck it. I fear lest the day end Before I am aware, And the time of offering go by. Though its colour be not deep And its smell be faint, Use this flower in thy service And pluck it while there is time. Rabindranath Tagore Gitanjali, 3rd Aasher, 1317 “Marte hai aarzoo mein marne ki Maut aati hai par nahin aati” MIRZA GHALIB i Acknowledgements The present study is the outcome of advice and encouragement that I received from my supervisor, Dr. Debika Saha. I wish to record my deep and sincere gratitude to my revered teacher. I remain indebted for her constant support and rigorous but constructive criticism on several points. She endured my many failings in explaining the research issues appropriately. My sincere thanks are due to Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi for granting me junior research fellowship to complete my study. My thanks also go to ICPR, Lucknow for arranging accommodation during my Library consultation. I wish to thank Dr. Laxmikanta Padhi for his time to time advice and suggestions. I am indebted to my family members, specially my husband Dr. Puspendu Chaki who is not only my soul-mate but also a constant companion all through my research work and whose constant encouragement has made the study possible. I wish to thank Prof. Raghunath Ghosh , Prof. Jyotish Chandra Basak, , Prof. Kantilal Das, Dr. Koushik Joardar (Head of the Dept.) , Dr. Anirban Mukherjee and Dr. N. Ramthing for their valuable suggestions. I am offering my thanks also to Dr. Nirmal Kumar Roy and Smt. Swagata Ghosh, members of the faculty. I wish to pay my homage to my late father Sri N. C. De who always supported my research work. I want to record my respect to my mother who uses to stay by my side silently all through my endeavor. Last but not the least I wish to express my love to the little baby ‘Naitick’ who was a constant source of inspirations in spite of his ii disturbances during my writings. I would like to acknowledge with thanks the help given to me in North Bengal by the Staffs of North Bengal University Library. I owe my special thanks to Mr. Santanu Mondal for his ernest cooperation and also thank printers for binding the type scripts within a very short period. Despite the support of various people many short comings may remain and for this I am alone responsible. BHASWATI DE University of North Bengal Nov., 2014 iii ABSTRACT The present study is an attempt to expound and examine the concept of “Mercy-Killing” which is also known as “Euthanasia” from its philosophical, moral and Practical standpoints. The present endeavor uses the two terms ‘Euthanasia’ and ‘Mercy Killing’ interchangeably. This is a burning issue in today’s World. With the rise of advanced medical technologies, especially life-sustaining ones, the issue of euthanasia becomes the centre of disputes. People can be kept alive against their wishes or in states of pain. It is also possible to keep people alive who are in a persistent vegetative state. In cases like this, the use of medical technologies raises questions about the moral appropriateness of sustaining life or allowing someone to die. The issues associates with this debate are complex. There is a constant search regarding certain question like, what it is to be human, what is the purpose of life and whether or not life is a gift from God. The present dissertation tries to delve deep to the above questions. The main text of the study has been divided into four chapters besides introduction and conclusion. The first chapter traces the origin of the concept historically and how it has been developed and used in different period of history. Besides it shows the different classifications of the practice. While analyzing the concept this chapter traces the historical heritage of the term euthanasia. The advancement in the field of medicine and technology make this issue of euthanasia relevant and important in our present day society. While tracing the heritage of the term euthanasia it has been found that in iv different periods philosophers have used this concept differently. In the Greek period both Plato and Aristotle were in favor of some sort of infanticide. The city-state Athens favored some sort of state assisted suicide. The Stoics also favored some kind of mercy killing. Though the term ‘mercy killing’ is not at that time in vogue, this term has been used differently. Besides the Stoics, Judaism forbids suicide and does not even discuss mercy killing. In 17th century Francis Bacon insisted that doctors should assist the dying patient to make a fair and easy passage from life. Besides the historical analysis, classifications of different types of euthanasia have been focused in this chapter. The concept of brain death has also been discussed in this chapter. The second chapter focuses on the ethical perspectives of the issue. In analyzing the issues, it brings out the question of autonomy and its relation to other theories. There are different views like consequentialism and nonconsequentialism which have been thoroughly discussed. Kant’s moral theory is one of the main themes of this chapter. There are different arguments for and against euthanasia which have been highlighted here also. Indian tradition of mercy killing is the thrust of the third chapter. It discusses the different perspectives of Indian tradition like Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Yoga, Islamic and others. India is a cosmopolitan country with an amalgamation of many cultures, traditions and religions. Here religion plays a very crucial role. This chapter is divided in to two sections. First section deals with the standpoints of Hinduism and Buddhism regarding mercy-killing Ancient Indian philosophical tradition justifies the idea of man willing his own death. As per Hindu mythology, Lord Rama and his brothers took Jal Samadhi in river Saryu near Ayodhya. Besides that, this section highlights the viewpoints of Samkhya-Yoga, Jainism and The Sikh view of mercy- v killing. Judaism and Islam are two other mono theistic religions which have had a global influence in regard to issues concerning the end of life. The Christian religion is also mostly against mercy-killing. The Christian religion believes that human beings are created in the image of God and thus their life belongs to God. Birth and death are part of the life processes which God has created, so humans should respect them and therefore no human being has the authority to choose the time and manner of his or any other human’s death. Here we discussed Thalaikoothal, which is the traditional practice of genocide or involuntary euthanasia, by their own family members, observed in some part of southern districts of Tamil Nadu state of India. In the second section, the current legal position on mercy-killing (euthanasia) and assisted suicide in India and the response of the Indian Judiciary are the point of discussion. Here we discussed Venkatesh case, who was dystrophic patient, wanted to be granted the right to die. He sought to enforce the right so that he could donate organs before they were affected by his illness. Lastly this section deals with the most debated case of Aruna Shanbaug which is still the center of lively debate even in 2014. Critical observation is the main tune of the fourth chapter. By way of analysis and comments this chapter tries to unveil how complex the problem is and how it affects the medical profession. This chapter presents some very difficult and painful dilemmas associated with mercy-killing which people from different areas like doctors, patients, family members and moral philosophers face in our day to day lives. The dilemma of assisted suicide creates sometimes complex situations to our physicians and Court systems. The present chapter is divided into two sections. In the first section we are trying to bring into limelight Dr, Jack Kevorkian thinking about euthanasia. According to him when any doctor assists some patients to commit vi suicide, they are doing a compassionate work. Advocates of euthanasia think that it is precisely their deep respect for human life that allows them to support suicide for the terminally ill. Here the arguments for and against voluntary euthanasia are discussed. The concept of Advanced Directive and Living Will is being the center of discussion in the second section. The complicated case of Terri Schiavo and the concept of ‘persistent vegetative state’ (PVS) are also part of our discussion. vii PREFACE The present study is an attempt to expound and examine the concept of “Mercy-Killing” which is also known as “Euthanasia” from its philosophical, moral and practical standpoints. The present endeavor uses the two terms ‘Euthanasia’ and ‘Mercy Killing’ interchangeably. This is a burning issue of our time. With the rise of advanced medical technologies, especially life-sustaining ones, the issue of euthanasia becomes the centre of disputes. People can be kept alive against their wishes or in states of pain. It is also possible to keep people alive who are in a persistent vegetative state.
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