The Supreme Court today rejected an application to withhold food from a patient lying in a vegetative state for the past 37 years in order for her to die. An activist had sought the move for Aruna Ramachandra Shanbaug saying keeping the 60-year-old nurse alive violated her right to live with dignity as she cannot see or speak properly. A ward boy of the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai had used a dog chain to throttle Shanbaug as he raped her. It cut off the blood and oxygen supply to her brain, resulting in paralysis, blindness and inability to speak. A two-judge bench that heard the plea reportedly ruled out "euthanasia" saying the country does not have a law on it. Father Charles Irudayam, secretary of the justice, peace and development commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, welcomed the verdict. “No one except God has the authority to give or take life,” he said. According to him, the Catholic Church never supports mercy killing since it considers life as sacred. ID13538.1644
