Unable to meet expenses, Andhra couple file plea to euthanise 1-yr-old ailing child

A couple have moved a court in Andhra Pradesh seeking permission for mercy killing of their one-year-old daughter as they are unable to afford her treatment costs.

Bawajan and Shabana filed a petition at a family court in Madanapalle town in Chittoor district on Thursday, seeking the permission for euthanasia for their daughter Suhana.

The couple stated in their petition that since her birth, Suhana is suffering from hypoglycemia. They said they have already spent Rs 12 lakh on her treatment at various hospitals in Madanapalle and Bengaluru, but her condition did not improve. 

Speaking to a local media outlet, Bawajan said, "I am a daily wage labourer and I get Rs 300 for a day's work. Mostly, I get this work only for four months in a year. My situation is such that I have been left with no other choice."

Stating that they sold their property and jewellery for their daughter's treatment, the couple said they were no longer in a position to bear the expenses and hence mercy killing be permitted. The family lives in V Kottakota mandal in Chittoor district.

In 2016, five-year-old Mahesh from Andhra, who was suffering from bone cancer from birth, died while undergoing treatment at Bengaluru's Indira Gandhi Hospital. 

Just a week before his death, the boy's father Buttaiah had submitted a petition in a local court in Andhra's Chittoor, seeking euthanasia for his son.

In March 2018, in a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of India ruled that it will allow passive euthanasia, and that the right to die with dignity is a fundamental right. It added that it would also allow living will for passive euthanasia.

Passive euthanasia is a condition where there is withdrawal of medical treatment with the deliberate intention to hasten the death of a terminally-ill patient.