A woman in Coimbatore pleaded with the district collector to grant euthanasia, painless death allowed to terminally ill patients or those in irreversible coma, to her mentally unwell son, The Hindu reported.
G. Manimekalai, 38, who has been staying with her elderly parents along with her two sons since her husband died 13 years ago, said the family is unable to take care of 17-year-old Jayaganesh any longer. The boy, who used to attend a special school, has been confined to home and often causes disruptions with his violent behaviour."I cannot go to work as I have to take care of him. My parents do mirror works and the boy damages them," she said.
Earlier, the family tried its best to take care of the boy, but his condition deteriorated over the years. His elder brother Gautham, 23, said he is often called home from work to help control his brother when he becomes unmanageable.
Jayaganesh is said to be under medication for about a decade and had been taken to many homes for mentally ill children in Coimbatore, Trichy, Aranthangi, Mayiladuthurai, Palani and Pollachi, though he failed to get long-term care from any.
"Earlier this year we took him to the government mental health hospital at Kilpauk. He was recovering there but the hospital asked us to take him back after two months. There are patients who are getting treated there for years together," Gautham told The Hindu.
The family's trials have been heightened by complaints from neighbours when Jayaganesh gets unruly and a series of evictions from landlords over the years.
India recently passed The Mental Healthcare Bill, 2013, which seeks to replace the Mental Health Act of 1987 with better provisions for the protection of the rights of people affected with mental illness.
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