Colombian courts decriminalized assisted suicide on Thursday, making it the first country in Latin America where doctors were able to help a patient die without going to jail.
Unlike euthanasia, which can only be administered by a doctor and is already legal in Colombia, the patient can now administer a lethal drug under supervision.
“A doctor who helps someone who is in intense pain or has a serious illness and who freely chooses to dispose of his or her life acts within the constitutional framework,” the court said in a ruling released Thursday.
The Constitutional Court, by six votes to three, annulled an article of the penal code that sentenced anyone who assisted in suicide to 12 to 36 months in prison, even if the person who decided to die was sick.
According to the Right to Die Dignified Foundation (DMD), the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide, which has been legal in Colombia since 1997, “is basically who administers the drug.”
“In the case of euthanasia, healthcare professionals administer the drug that causes death, and in the case of assisted suicide, the patient himself gives the drug someone else has given,” explains the International NGO.
Despite being the only Latin American country and one of the few in the world to decriminalize euthanasia, Colombian laws continued to punish those who encouraged or aided a person who decided to take their own life.
– Strict requirements – Lawyer Lucas Correa of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Lab told W Radio, summed up in the verdict: “Suicide aid is no longer a crime when under doctor’s supervision and strict conditions are met.” (Desclab ), who defied the law.
According to the court, this practice will only be permitted to those who “have suffered intense physical or mental suffering due to bodily injury or serious and incurable illness.” The same conditions are required for euthanasia, which was originally reserved for the terminally ill but was relaxed by the same court last year.
Those who do not comply with these conditions are sentenced to imprisonment of up to nine years.
According to data from the DMD Foundation, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg also regulate euthanasia, while Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and some states in the United States and Australia regulate assisted suicide under different conditions.
– In-depth discussion – The conservative government of Ivan Duque intervened during the legal debate against decriminalizing doctor-assisted suicide, arguing that this decision should be taken by Congress.
“Adding another medically assisted death option without proper and adequate discussion could have negative consequences,” the Ministry of Health wrote in a letter sent to the court.
Despite court orders, patients seeking access to euthanasia in Colombia denounce barriers at hospitals responsible for carrying out the procedure.
This is the case of Martha Sepúlveda, a woman with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, whose euthanasia was canceled at the last minute by a medical commission on the grounds that she still had a “high chance” of survival. Sepúlveda appealed the decision and was euthanized.
In today’s ruling, the court urged Congress to “remove any remaining barriers to access” to an honorable death.
If you know someone who needs help, EERP’s Suicide Prevention and Postvention Studies and Research Laboratory (LEPS) and EERP’s Suicide Prevention and Postvention Training Center (CEPS) created InspirAção. Funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Fapesp), the site provides relevant information, scientific articles and instructions, as well as booklets for those interested.
source: Noticias
