Elderly couple 'with no hardships' writes to Prez, seeks euthanasia
Mumbai: An elderly couple from Mumbai wrote a letter to President Ram Nath Kovind seeking permission for “active euthanasia.”
Narayan Lavate (86), who retired in 1989 from the State Transport Corporation, said that he does not have any children and both he and his wife do not suffer from any major health problem.
"We are also of no use to the society now and cannot contribute anything to it, so we have written to the President to allow us for doctor-assisted death," Lavate said.
"At present we don't have any ailment or deformity. There is no guarantee that it'll be the case even in future. Instead of living further & creating trouble for others it is better to die. We had decided that we won't have children. There is no one in our family," Lavate further added.
His wife, 79-years-old, who is the former principal of a High School in the city, said, "I have had two operations. It is not possible for me to go out alone. It is tough for me to sit idle. I was a teacher. What is the purpose of living now."
"At this stage of life we simply do not want to live. We don't have hardships in our life but still we do not want to live," she added.
Narayan Lavate further said he wrote to the President because he has the constitutional power to pardon life sentences and should also have the power to allow ‘right to death.’