48-year-old Delhi man seeks euthanasia in Switzerland; Friend moves HC to stop him

New Delhi, Aug 12: A Bengaluru-based woman has filed a petition before the Delhi High Court appealing the court to stop her friend, a 48-year-old man based in Noida, from travelling to Switzerland allegedly to undergo physician-assisted suicide, also known as euthanasia. The high court is likely to hear the case next week, reported The Indian Express.

The petition, filed on Wednesday, 10 August, claims that the man is suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 2014 (known internationally as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). It is a disease characterized by post-exertional malaise, brain fog, headaches, sleep disturbance, dyspnea, and chest pain.

The woman in her plea appealed the court to restrict his travel to Europe, as his action will cause "irreparable loss" and "hardship" to his parents, other family members, and friends, the report added. The man, if euthanised, will leave behind a sister, and parents who are in their seventies.

"It is pertinent to mention that there is no financial constraints for providing [him] with better treatments within India or abroad but he is now adamant on his decision to go for Euthanasia, which also affects the life of age-old parents miserably," the petition stated.

The petition further stated that the man was undergoing a treatment called Fecal Microbiota Transplantation at AIIMS Delhi, but he could not continue with it during the pandemic due to "donor availability issues". His condition has only deteriorated over the last eight years, confining him to his bed except for a few steps inside his house.

It also claims that the man travelled to Zurich in June via Belgium for the first round of psychological evaluation for euthanasia. He obtained a Schengen visa, which allows unrestricted travel to 26 European countries, by providing "false information" that he wants to seek treatment at a clinic in Belgium.

"According to the information received by the Petitioner, his application was accepted by Dignitas (a Zurich-based organisation), first evaluation was approved and (he is) now awaiting the final decision by the end of August 2022," the petition claimed.

The Supreme Court, in its landmark ruling in 2018, made passive euthanasia legal for terminally ill patients, allowing them to decline life support measures, and letting the families of patients in an incurable coma withdraw such measures.