Unable to live with a 25-kg tumour, Andhra Pradesh woman seeks euthanasia

KAKINADA: A 37-year-old woman on Monday requested East Godavari Collector Karthikeya Mishra for passive euthanasia during a public redressal programme at the Collectorate here saying she had no money to remove a 25-kg tumour in her stomach which was causing her extreme pain.

Patti Ramalakshmi went to the Collectorate with her husband P Konda Babu, a lorry cleaner, but could not step out of the auto rickshaw she arrived in. Babu met Mishra and submitted the petition in which Ramalakshmi explained that she could not cough up the Rs 4.5 lakh required for surgery and so should be allowed to die. 

The Collector swung into action immediately and directed district NTR Arogya Sri coordinator Dr Varaprasad to ensure that the woman received treatment. He asked the couple not to lose hope and promised to do everything in his capacity to save her life. “I have advised her not to get depressed and assured her that the district administration would make every effort to bear the entire cost of surgery under the CM’s relief fund. The NTR Arogya Seva coordinator has been asked to monitor the case,” he told TNIE. Ramalakshmi said her pain was increasing by the day and she was unable to move. “We are poor and I am unable to bear the pain any longer. So I requested for mercy killing,” she said. 

“We just couldn’t arrange for the required amount of money no matter how hard we tried. My pain has been increasing steadily and we decided that there was no other go than to request for mercy killing,” she explained. 

The district coordinator of NTR Arogya Seva said doctors at Hope Hospital would look into the case and begin treatment soon.