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Dr Asha Sawadekar launches two books on euthanasia

By on February 21, 2018

NGO Sanjeevan Arogyadham president Dr Asha Sawardekar recently released two of her books at the G R Kare College of Law in Margao.

The books – Peaceful Exit in English and Samadhan Jeevanmuktiche in Marathi – were released by chief guest retired judge of Bombay High Court, Justice Avinash Lawande, guest of honour writer and industrialist Datta Damodar Naik and college president Dr Saba Da Silva.

The books speak about peaceful death and euthanasia. Death today has legal, social and moral aspects to it. Euthanasia has provoked legal opinions in India, where liberals believe the right to die is as important as the right to live. They call for it to be legalised.

Sawadekar said, “The subject has been lingering in my mind for several years. We started Sanjeevan Arogyadham, Ponda, for the welfare of old women, particularly those above 75, who are sick and bedridden. I have seen victims of diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, epilepsy, degeneration of the body and others. They are dependent on care for physical activities and often death is the only solution.”

She added, “I decided to study euthanasia in depth. Doctors said they cannot help patients die because it is illegal; lawyers say a law can be misused; common people think it is killing. So I began focusing on the legal aspects of euthanasia, and this is how the books came into being.”

Assistant professor Shruti Nadkarni proposed the vote of thanks.