Sukhant...Indeed!

I recently saw a nice marathi movie "Sukhant" (in marathi "a happy end")

There have been quite a lot of thought provoking movies being made in marathi that touches on various social issues lately and this is one of them.

Its about a son(Atul Kulkarni) whose mother turns quadriplegic in an accident.

Her limbs are paralysed.She can talk,eat,smell etc.She has all the senses intact but cannot move by herself.She tries hard to make her peace with her plight for about a year or so.

Finally she has enough.She couldnt take it anymore.She has no will and ambition left to live.She can sense how big a liability she is becoming to herself and her family members.

She begs his son to release her out of this She tells him to end her life.

Now he has to choose between a painful dilemma of letting his most beloved person,the one who brought him into this world,who nourished him,who toiled for his education and upbringing and made him what he is today,live painfully in agony,reduced literally to a vegetable,incapable of doing none of the daily chores by herself,or to free her out of her misery and theoretically commit a matricide.

He tries to fight her case to get a legal approval for this tremendous decision, as no surgeon would do it otherwise lest it becomes a culpable homicide.But he fails.His appeal is dismissed in all the courts he tries.

Finally with no other options left,he chooses the way any rational,responsble son who truly loves his mother would choose.

A very touching concept,nice direction and excellent performances from everyone.Really couldn't stop contemplating over the movie afterwards.

Euthanasia or mercy killing,especially as far as humans are concerned,is still a very contentious issue.And has not been legalized even in developed countries with some exceptions.It is always seen as a homicide,no matter whether the recipient has given his full consent for the same.

From a third person view it seems like a criminal homicide.Some sentimental arguments like "if you cannot create a life life than don't destroy it","only god can give or take life" etc all supports the anti euthanasia case very strongly,however little sense they make.

But I think a person has full right of what he is going to do with his life.This isnt suicide.There is no self murder involved here.Someone who opts for a suicide,makes that choice instinctively,and has a choice to turn things around for him before he mutilates his life but in case of euthanasia,one makes a conscious,well-thought decision.(Ideally)

An instant peaceful death is lot better than dying a bit everyday.Ofcourse no one would know this better than the victim who has chosen a death.

If we set aside these pseudo-moral arguments and think from an unbiased perspective,I think it's a very practical thing to do.Why the concept of putting pets to sleep came into place.Because its only humane to not allow them to suffer every day every minute.

If we can have so much consideration for an animal's life,then why not for human's.Infact logically we can empathise with the sufferings of a fellow human being much more effectively.

Of course there should be enough care taken before its actual implementation.

For eg,the patient's psychological condition,his ability to take decision,the clarity of mind before he chooses this option.

These can be achieved through a lot of ways.The counselling sessions,biometric tests etc.

I also think that everything should be done and tried first in order to change his/her mind.

Enough care should also be taken to prevent its misuse by people who would be benefitted by the death of the victim.

All in all I think its a very modern and rational concept and totally in sync with humanity.

Lets just hope someday soon Euthanasia would evolve itself out its "homicide" tag and the world would be ready for such solutions.

Peace.