Man moves HC to euthanise 9-year-old son

As per the plea moved by R Thirumani, a tailor, his son T Parvendhan has been in Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) from birth to till date being diagnosed with the condition of Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). Apart from that he also suffers uncontrolled epileptic attacks and is in a state of wakefulness without any awareness about himself or about anything in the environment. He also suffers from a severe form of total brain damage and he cannot even recognise anything or anyone, the plea said.

A division bench, comprising Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice S Baskaran, on admitting the plea moved by the father of the child on Friday, directed a three-member panel comprising Dr Reginald, Neurosurgeon, Dr P Ramachandran, Pediatrician and Dr Uma Maheshwari, CMO, Central Government Health Scheme, Chennai, to nominate three experts to examine the child within two weeks at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Specialty Hospital on Omandurar campus. The case has been posted for further hearing to September 10.

Advocate N Kavitha Rameshwar appearing on behalf of the petitioner contended that the plea has been moved on the basis of  the Supreme Court ruling last March that the Right to Life under Article 21 includes the right to live with dignity and the same includes the smoothening of the process of dying in case of a terminally ill patient or a person in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery.

Also, the Supreme Court had specifically held that in the case of terminally ill persons in PVS, where the physician or the Hospital Medical Board is not able to take a decision with respect to withdrawal of treatment, it is open to the parent(s) and family members of the patient to seek relief under Article 226 of the Constitution by approaching the High Court, she added.

The child’s father in his plea has sought for permitting the withdrawal of all forms of food, nutrition and medicine as part of his duty to smoothen the process of his son’s death.