Euthanasia Legal Colombia

Last year, the Constitutional Court recognized that euthanasia should also be possible for people whose state of health threatens their human dignity. The euthanasia recently performed on Escobar and Sepúlveda in Colombia will open the discussion on the legality of this service in other countries in the region. Yet euthanasia has worried many that patients could be killed intentionally or accidentally against their will. That`s why we`re going to tell you 3 things you need to know about euthanasia to better understand this procedure that many patients around the world want to access. Derek Humphry, an Oregon-based euthanasia activist, adds that some doctors — sometimes with the blessing of family, sometimes without — are already hastening the deaths of ailing patients. There must be legal control. The next day, Martha Sepúlveda, 51, who had fought a long legal battle for the right to die, was euthanized in Medellín at her request. She had progressive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig`s disease. “Colombia has just legalized euthanasia. Here`s why it`s a big problem” (Global Post — April 29, 2015) Euthanasia occurs when a third party actually administers the lethal dose, usually by lethal injection.

The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in favour of euthanasia in 1997. The Ministry of Health`s new protocol finally puts the court`s decision into practice. The Supreme Court decision, which was six to three in favor of the decision, is the latest in a series of Supreme Court decisions that have allowed Colombia to have some of the most advanced medical laws in Latin America. In January, abortion was decriminalized in Colombia for up to 24 weeks, and euthanasia was used for the first time by a person with a non-fatal disease.2 Background: On May 20, 1997, Colombia`s Supreme Court ruled that clemency sentences should be repealed and that doctors should be allowed to end patients` lives through euthanasia. (Constitutional Court of the Republic of Colombia, judgment # C-239/97, Ref. Expedient # D-1490, 20 May 1997.) Text of the court decision I spoke with Camila Jaramillo Salazar, associate researcher at the Laboratory for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (DescLAB), about her work on euthanasia and euthanasia in Colombia. On Saturday, January 8, 2022, Martha Sepulveda, a second Colombian woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, was euthanized. According to Colombian legal law group DescLAB, Sepulveda was the subject of a noon proceeding in the city of Medellin.

[3] In Peru too, the rejection of euthanasia has become an important political platform for conservative politicians. Josefina told me about presidential candidate Rafael López Aliaga, who targeted Ana as part of his campaign last spring. On March 9, 2018, Colombia adopted a resolution authorizing the euthanasia of children. The issue of medical assistance in dying and euthanasia continues to spark conversation and debate. Psychiatrists and ethicists have different views on the issue, generally focusing on the principles of patient autonomy and “do no harm.” 6-9 Despite opposition from doctors, clinics and courts, Victor Escobar became the first Colombian to die of euthanasia on Friday, January 7, 2022. Euthanasia is different from physician-assisted suicide, which is legal in many places. In the case of medical assistance in dying, a doctor prescribes life-ending medications, usually pills, but it is the patient who takes them. Euthanasia occurs when a third party actually administers the lethal dose, usually by injection.

This raises all sorts of ethical questions. “There are a lot of people who say, `Wait a minute and you`re doing legal activism! What you are doing is a crime and you are exceeding your authority. But the Constitution does not say that judges automatically apply the law; They should interpret the law. There`s a very shy culture about our legal culture – it`s very positivist. There is no broader interpretation that questions what the law says or interprets it in light of the Constitution. Colombian Victor Escobar was the first person in the Andean country with a non-incurable disease to die Friday night from a legally regulated euthanasia, confirmed his lawyer Luis Giraldo. In 2014, the procedure was finally settled by the Ministry of Health after nearly two decades of confusion over whether doctors could legally perform it. The court ordered Congress to regulate euthanasia, which applies only to the terminally ill, in 2014. Escobar had fought for his right to euthanasia for two years against opposition from doctors, clinics and courts, even though the Constitutional Court last year recognized that the trial should not only be accessible to the terminally ill.

Rojas said a medical commission should have been convened to investigate the experiences of other countries where physician-assisted suicide is legal, such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Canada. “It is difficult for young people to fight for their right to die with dignity. We think we will not die. And talking about it isn`t fun – it`s not sexy. We use colour on our social media; We use language that is more appealing to young people, and we try to promote policies so that you can say you want euthanasia in the future. Many religions – especially Catholicism, which has a lot of influence in Latin America – vehemently oppose euthanasia, insisting that palliative care should be the only option on the table for terminally ill patients. There is a growing global movement toward physician-assisted suicide, such as the important case of Californian Brittany Maynard, a brain tumor patient who took her own life last November. But euthanasia remains a much more sensitive issue. The only countries that allow this outside Colombia are Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in favour of euthanasia in 1997. But doctors were reluctant to carry out the verdict because a separate law punishes clemency murder with six months to three years in prison. The Laboratory of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (DescLAB), a law firm that has represented Sepúlveda and other patients seeking access to euthanasia, said after her death: “Martha`s legacy builds on the life stories and cases that have reached the Constitutional Court over the past 29 years, allowing Colombia to be one of the few countries in the world.

where death with dignity and euthanasia are a right of citizens.” The decision, supported by six out of nine judges, requires patients to meet the standards already in place for euthanasia: they must be diagnosed with a serious or incurable injury or illness that causes acute physical or mental pain that they consider incompatible with a dignified life. 1. Reuters. The first Colombian with a non-fatal disease legally dies by euthanasia. NBC News. January 9, 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022 www.nbcnews.com/news/world/man-dies-euthanasia-colombia-first-non-terminal-illness-rcna11506 “These are legal issues, but the outcome will ultimately depend on the doctors. Medical professionals are experts on this issue and could have informed the process, but they were never consulted,” he said. He is concerned that without a strong legal framework, the practice could be vulnerable to manipulation by unethical doctors or politicians.

Others warn that euthanasia for terminally ill patients, who are sometimes unable to articulate their opinions clearly, could be the beginning of a slippery slope to societies trying to weed out those deemed undesirable. Victor Escobar, 60, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, took his own life in Cali on the evening of January 7, becoming the first person in Latin America to die legally and voluntarily without a diagnosis of an incurable disease. Last March, Spain became the sixth country in the world to legalize euthanasia. It joined the ranks of Canada and the Netherlands (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and was one of the few places in the world where doctors can end the lives of suffering patients. The list excludes Switzerland – where euthanasia (although unassisted) is still criminalised – but includes Colombia, where the practice has been legal since 1997. How was the verdict possible? The Ombudsman`s legal team was able to use the rights guaranteed by the Peruvian Constitution to decriminalize Ana`s proceedings. The decision upheld the doctrine of Difuso review, which requires judges not to apply unconstitutional laws in certain cases. On March 9, 2018, Colombia adopted a resolution authorizing the euthanasia of children. For children between the ages of 7 and 12, parental consent is required in addition to the child`s request. Youth between the ages of 12 and 14 may also receive euthanasia with parental consent.

Children 14 years of age and older may consent for themselves without parental consent. Although doctors can legally perform euthanasia procedures, Colombia`s penal code criminalizes physician-assisted suicide. It prevents them from helping people end their lives. In September 2021, DescLAB filed a lawsuit against the Constitutional Court to repeal the provision. In Chile, a human rights defender named Cecilia Heyder demanded the right to decide when to end her life. Recently, she filed a protection complaint against San José Hospital and the Chilean Ministry of Health. Elsewhere in the Southern Cone, parliaments in Argentina and Uruguay debated palliative care and euthanasia. Juan Carlos Rojas, president of the Colombian Psychiatric Association, told the BMJ that the decision gives medical professionals and their patients more autonomy because patients can now end their lives without the consent of the family or partner – which is necessary for euthanasia.