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Related: About this forumFasting To The Death: Is It A Religious Rite Or Suicide?
Members of the Jain community in Mumbai, India, protest a High Court order that banned santhara, a practice of fasting until death. Rafiq Maqbool/AP
September 02, 2015 5:20 AM ET
Julie McCarthy
A person who is very old or very ill decides to stop eating in order to die.
To members of the ancient and tiny faith of Jainism in India, that's a tradition called santhara or sallekhana (literally thinning out).
India's Supreme Court is considering whether to ban the practice as a form of suicide, which is punishable under law. The court is now reviewing the end-of-life ritual.
Some form of fasting is deeply rooted in many religions: Christians practice Lent. Muslims have Ramadan. The Jewish tradition is to fast on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Hindu calendar is rich with days of forsaking food.
http://www.npr.org/2015/09/02/436820789/india-examines-when-is-fasting-considered-suicide
5:54 audio at link. Earlier thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1218210456
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Fasting To The Death: Is It A Religious Rite Or Suicide? (Original Post)
rug
Sep 2015
OP
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)1. It's not a formalized ritual in our culture, but it is
quite common for elderly people to stop eating, and then die not long after.
rug
(82,333 posts)2. Worse, it's often not voluntary.
SheilaT
(23,156 posts)3. Really? All of the cases I happen to know
of are elderly people voluntarily not eating. If you know of someone who deliberately starves someone, a call to 911 might be in order.
rug
(82,333 posts)4. Many older people can't get arond, or even out.
When they have no support system or means, many end up simply waiting to die.
The ones I know are from guardianships brought by APS.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)5. Does it matter?
I don't give a shit if it's religious or not. I reserve the right to self-terminate on my own terms. Anyone should have that right.