Friday, May 13 2005 15:39 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Union Government has no proposal for bringing any legislation to legalise mercy killings, the Lok Sabha was informed today (May 13, 2005).

In a written reply, Law and Justice Minister H R Bharadwaj listed eight reasons behind the Government's Opposition to mercy killing, including that progression of medical science to relieve pain and suffering, rehabilitation and treatment of so-called incurable diseases will suffer a setback.

An individual may wish to die at certain point of time, his or her wish may not be persistent and only a fleeting desire out of transient depression, he said, adding suffering was a state of mind and a perception which varied from individual to individual and depended on various environmental factors.

He said continuous medical advancement has made possible good pain management in patients of cancer and other terminal illnesses. Similarly, rehabilitation helps spinal injury patients in leading near normal life and mercy killing may not be required, the Minister said.

Wish of mercy killing by a mentally ill patients or in depression may be treatable by good psychiatric care.

It will be difficult to quantify suffering, which may always be subject to changing social pressures and norms and it will be difficult on the part of the doctors to claim to have knowledge and experience to say that the disease is incurable and patient is permanently invalid, Bharadwaj said.

He also apprehended there might be psychological pressure and trauma to the medical officers who would be required to conduct mercy killing.