Mumbai:
Should Aruna Shanbaug be allowed to die? That's what the Supreme Court has to decide.
Thirty six years ago, Aruna, who was a nurse, was sexually assaulted by a sweeper at the same government hospital where she now lies.
She cannot speak, hear or see; she is force-fed everyday. Doctors attending to her confirm that she is brain-dead and that there is no hope of her condition ever improving.
A social activist, Pinki Virani, has asked the Supreme Court to order the hospital to stop force-feeding Aruna. Doctors say if that's allowed, she will die within four days.
Aruna, who is now 60, has been abandoned by her family.
Virani argues that fasts are allowed for political and religious reasons and they should not be off-limits to people like Aruna, whose dignity is compromised by being forced to live "like a vegetable." (
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