India's first passive euthanasia patient Harish Rana breathes his last at AIIMS Delhi
Harish Rana breathed his last on Tuesday at AIIMS, Delhi. 31-year-old Harish had been in a coma for 13 years. The Supreme Court had granted permission for euthanasia on March 11. This marks the country's first case in which euthanasia has been administered to an individual.
Harish was administered passive euthanasia at AIIMS. This entails discontinuing or withdrawing the external life support or medical treatment being provided to keep a critically ill patient alive, thereby allowing the patient to die a natural death.
Harish was shifted to AIIMS Delhi on March 14. The AIIMS administration removed Harish Rana's feeding tube on March 16.
The Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the euthanasia case on March 11. Following the judgment, his mother, Nirmala Devi, stated, "We made every possible effort to treat my son. We took him to major hospitals and consulted numerous doctors, but our hopes have all but faded. Now, my only prayer to God is that he finds swift relief from this suffering."
A bench of justices J B Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan of the Supreme Court, who pronounced the landmark judgment for Harish Rana, had praised his parents, saying, "To love someone is to care for them not just in times of joy, but in their saddest and darkest hours." The court added that throughout the adjunction of this matter, they have been gripped by "profound sadness"