5-member Kerala family mulls moving Supreme Court requesting mercy killing

A five-member family in Kerala's Kottayam plans to petition the Supreme Court for permission to undergo euthanasia, citing their inability to provide adequate care for their children.

Manu and Smitha, a nursing couple from Pala in Kottayam district, have made the decision as two of their three children suffer from a rare condition known as Salt-Wasting Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) -- this deficiency causes the body to be unable to retain enough sodium, losing a lot of it in urine.

One of the two children suffering from CAH is 90 percent autistic.

"A CAH patient with severe autism is rare among the rare. It needs regular and special care," Smitha said.

Despite their efforts, including lobbying the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to recognise CAH as a rare disease and securing some government funds for treatment after the High Court's intervention, the financial burden remains overwhelming for the family.

Forced to quit their nursing jobs in New Delhi to care for their children, Manu and Smitha have struggled to make ends meet. They have exhausted their savings, sold properties, and even mortgaged their home to cover medical expenses.

Their desperate plea for employment assistance from the government has gone unanswered.

"Without jobs, we cannot move forward. We have already sold our properties, even mortgaged our house to secure a bank loan for the treatment of our children. The severe financial crisis has started affecting our elder daughter's education too," Smitha said.

All these difficulties forced the family to make the most challenging decision in life, to request mercy killing.

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