Euthanasia ruling expected Friday

JAKARTA: The Central Jakarta District Court is slated to make public its decision on the legality of euthanasia based on an appeal by Bogor resident Hasan Kesuma, whose wife Agian Isna Naili has been in coma for more than three months.

Hasan's lawyer Iskandar Sitorus from the Legal Aid Institute for Health (LBHK) said his client has asked him to appeal to the higher courts if the district court rejected his request.

Several days after giving birth in July, Agian was taken to Bogor Islamic Hospital after experiencing hypertension, where she was operated on by obstetrician Gunawan Muhammad. She has been in a coma ever since.

Head of LBHK's malpractice division, Christ Benjamin, said that Agian was also suffering from acute bedsores and that her weight has dropped by eight kilograms in the last two weeks, Tempointeraktif.com reported.

Hasan said he still has to pay hospital bills, although Minister of Health Siti Fadillah Supari had promised to free him from medical expenses at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital where Agian is being treated. -- JP