1. The document discusses the issue of poverty in Delhi, India, where many migrants come seeking opportunity but often find only hardship. 2. It profiles several individuals living in poverty in Delhi, like Prem Chand who has nothing but the clothes on his back and sleeps on the sidewalk, and Mohammad Abbas, a rickshaw puller who was unable to continue his education and see his children go past 6th grade. 3. It notes how poverty deprives people of opportunities, traps them in a cycle that is difficult to escape, and can redefine relationships, as Abbas regrets not living with his wife for most of their 42 year marriage due to having to work in Delhi.

1. World Poverty and Euthanasia -
Cases
Prof Kumar Neeraj Sachdev
6168-F
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

2. Case Study – The Idea
• Case study is a brief description of a problem-situation,
which is followed by the analysis of the case.
• The analysis of the case should involve the use of
relevant topic of study like Euthanasia and some part
of philosophical perspective.
• The analysis of the case will help the student to
– better understand the topic of study and the given
philosophical perspective and;
– to learn about the correct way to arrive at a philosophically
defensible judgment in a given problem-situation.
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3. World Poverty
Zia Haq, Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Updated: Updated: Jul 28, 2016 12:46
IST
Octavio Paz, the Nobel winning Mexican poet who travelled to India as his
country’s ambassador in 1962, was surprised to see “incredible opulence”
surrounded by “equally unbelievable” poverty. How has India changed today?
India is now Asia’s third largest economy. In 2015, it had more billionaires than
any other country except the US and China, according to a Wall Street Journal
report. A billionaire census by the firms Wealth X and Swiss bank UBS
conducted the same year revealed India had more billionaires than
Switzerland, Hong Kong and France together. India’s economic path, apart
from improving its poverty rates, has produced a growing club of the super-
rich. Yet, a poor human development record and rising inequality are grim
reminders of how India can’t rely on economic growth alone.
The consequences of not tackling inequality in India, Angus Deaton, the
recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in economics, said, were the “same as in the
US that the rich capture more than their share of political power, so that the
state stops serving the majority of people”.

4. Euthanasia
A 24-year-old man named Robert who has a wife and child is
paralyzed from the neck down in a motorcycle accident. He has
always been very active and hates the idea of being paralyzed. He
also is in a great deal of pain, and he has asked his doctors and
other members of his family to "put him out of his misery." After
several days of such pleading, his brother comes into Robert's
hospital ward and asks him if he is sure he still wants to be put out
of his misery. Robert says yes and pleads with his brother to kill
him. The brother kisses and blesses Robert, then takes out a gun
and shoots him, killing him instantly. The brother later is tried for
murder and acquitted by reason of temporary insanity.
Was what Robert's brother did moral? Do you think he should have
been brought to trial at all? Do you think he should have been
acquitted? Would you do the same for a loved one if you were
asked?

5. • Euthanasia is a highly debated and controversial topic, but some arguments in favor of euthanasia
include:
1. Autonomy: Individuals have the right to make decisions about their own lives, including how they
want to end their life if they are suffering from a terminal illness or severe pain. Euthanasia allows
individuals to exercise their autonomy and have control over their own death.
2. Compassion: Euthanasia can be a compassionate option for individuals who are suffering from a
terminal illness or severe pain. It can provide relief from the suffering and allow individuals to pass
away peacefully and with dignity.
3. Quality of Life: Euthanasia can be seen as a way to improve the quality of life for individuals who
are suffering. Rather than prolonging their suffering, euthanasia can allow them to end their pain
and suffering in a humane and dignified way.
4. Healthcare Resources: Euthanasia can also be seen as a way to conserve healthcare resources,
particularly in cases where patients are in a vegetative state or have no chance of recovery. By
ending their suffering, healthcare resources can be redirected to other patients who may benefit
from them.
5. Legalization: Some argue that legalizing euthanasia would help to prevent cases of illegal and
potentially dangerous euthanasia practices. Legalization would allow for regulation and oversight,
ensuring that euthanasia is only carried out under strict conditions and with the consent of the
patient and medical professionals.
• It's worth noting that the issue of euthanasia is complex, and there are also arguments against
euthanasia, such as concerns about potential abuses and the value of preserving life. It's important
to carefully consider all perspectives and ethical principles when discussing this topic.

6. Euthanasia
In September 2014, a convicted murderer and rapist who argued he was living a
life of unbearable psychological suffering in prison was granted the right to die
under Belgium's liberal euthanasia laws, paving the way for at least 15 similar
requests from other inmates. Since 2002, people living in Belgium can ask doctors
to end their lives if a panel of medical experts agrees that their physical or mental
suffering is unbearable and irreversible. Frank Van Den Bleeken, a 50-year-old
serving life for sexual assault and murder, argued he would never be able to
overcome his violent impulses and would spend his life in prison. He has been
imprisoned for 30 years and asked to end his life three years ago. The board that
assesses each case said he had to seek psychological help first, but after he failed
to find such treatment, his request was granted. He was due to be euthanized in
January 2015, but it was suddenly canceled after doctors pulled out of the
euthanasia procedure. Van Den Bleeken's right to euthanasia had been strongly
condemned by the family of his victim. The two older sisters of Christiane
Remacle, a 19-year-old girl raped and strangled to death by Van Den Bleeken on
her way home from a New Year's Eve party on January 1 1989, called for him to
“languish in prison” rather than be allowed a swift release. Was Bleeken’s request
morally justified? Do you think he should have been granted the right to die or else
do you think he should have been kept in prison? Would you suggest some
changes in Belgium’s liberal euthanasia laws?

7. Euthanasia
An elderly couple has written to the President’s office, seeking permission for “active
euthanasia”, where a person is killed, usually by administering an overdose of pain-killers.
The couple, Iravati Lavate, 79, a retired school principal, and her husband Narayan, 86, a
former government employee, have no major health problems. However, the fear of falling
terminally ill and of not being able to “contribute to society” has pushed them to write to
the President to seek permission for “doctor-assisted death”, they said. The couple does not
have any children. When HT visited them at their house, Iravati said, “Within the first year of
our marriage, we had decided that we didn’t want to have children. Now, in our old age, we
don’t want others to be liable for our condition later.” While present laws in the country do
not allow active euthanasia, experts told HT the couple would have had a hard time even in
countries that do because they don’t have any life limiting disease. Dr Roop Gursahani,
neurologist, PD Hinduja and Research Centre, Mahim, who is part of a group advocating
living wills, said that even countries where active euthanasia is legal, the requisite is that the
patient must have a terminally ill disease. “Physician assisted dying is possible in a few
countries, all democracies with very effective law and justice systems. However, it is
reserved for terminally ill patients with unacceptable suffering,” he said. Lavate retired as an
employee of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation after working for nearly 30
years; his wife, an ex-principal of Aryan E S High School, Charni Road, was a science teacher
for 37 years. Lavate said he wrote to the President because the latter has the constitutional
power to pardon life sentences, and should also have the power to allow ‘right to death’.

8. Euthanasia
104-year-old Australia scientist heads to Switzerland for assisted dying
Hindustan Times, Agence France-Presse, Sydney Updated: Apr 30, 2018 11:24 IST
Australia’s oldest scientist, who caused a stir when his university tried to vacate his office aged 102,
will fly to Switzerland in early May to end his life, reigniting a national euthanasia debate. David
Goodall, who is now 104, does not have a terminal illness but his quality of life has deteriorated
and he has secured a fast-track appointment with an assisted dying agency in Basel, euthanasia
advocates said. “I greatly regret having reached that age,” the ecologist told broadcaster ABC on his
birthday earlier this month. “I’m not happy. I want to die. It’s not sad particularly. What is sad is if
one is prevented. My feeling is that an old person like me should have full citizenship rights
including the right of assisted suicide,” he added. Assisted suicide is illegal in most countries around
the world and was banned in Australia until the state of Victoria became the first to legalize the
practice last year. But that legislation, which takes effect from June 2019, only applies to terminally
ill patients of sound mind and a life expectancy of less than six months. Other states in Australia
have debated euthanasia in the past, but the proposals have always been defeated, most recently
in New South Wales state last year. Exit International, which is helping Goodall make the trip, said it
was unjust that one of Australia’s “oldest and most prominent citizens should be forced to travel to
the other side of the world to die with dignity”. “A peaceful, dignified death is the entitlement of all
who want it. And a person should not be forced to leave home to achieve it,” it said on its website
Monday. The group has launched a GoFundMe campaign to get plane tickets for Goodall and his
helper upgraded to business class from economy and has so far raised more than Aus$17,000
(US$13,000). Goodall, an honorary research associate at Perth’s Edith Cowan University, made
international headlines in 2016 when he was declared unfit to be on campus. After an uproar and
support from scientists globally, the decision was reversed. He has produced dozens of research
papers and until recently continued to review and edit for different ecology journals.

9. World Poverty
Most of the city’s poor are migrants — they constitute about 33%
of the population of Delhi — who come to the city attracted by the
promise of a secure livelihood and better life. But their hopes and
dreams are, more often than not, belied.
“When I first came here 10 years back, I was young and energetic
and thought Delhi is a big city and I would be able to make
something of myself, but look where I have ended up,” says Prem
Chand, a casual labourer at Bara Tooti, one of the city’s oldest
labour chowks, in the heart of the city. “All I own are the clothes I
am wearing; I sleep on the footpath; and I have no one to share my
pain with.” Prem Chand’s story illustrates that poverty does not just
engender a myriad deprivations, but also a stifling solitude. Just talk
to the men of Bara Tooti, which is like an open-air museum of
shattered dreams and defeated aspirations of the poor.

10. Continued (2 of 2)
Mohammad Abbas, a rickshaw puller, says the biggest
disadvantages poverty causes is that it ‘deprives people of
opportunities’. “I wanted to study, but could not. I could not
send my children to school beyond class 6. So, people like
me need some superhuman effort or extraordinary luck to
break free from the vicious cycle of poverty,” he says.
“Many young poor people come to the capital thinking they
can work hard and strive for success, but end up just
struggling for survival. And Delhi can be shockingly
indifferent to them.” Poverty, he adds, can also redefine the
meaning of relationships. “My family lives in the village. In
42 years of my marriage, I have not lived with my wife for
42 months, and that is the biggest regret of my life.”

11. Thank You.