This anecdote belongs to myth and legend: when Juan Montalvo, that great thinker and cultivator of our language, realized that he was going to die, he asked to be dressed in a tail. He wanted to enter death with the dignity with which he began life. It was inevitable to think about that picture, as well as the essay Illness and its Metaphors by Susan Sontag, when I learned about the case of Paola Roldán, a 42-year-old woman suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. (ALS) and who filed a lawsuit before the Constitutional Court for the unconstitutionality of Article 144 of the General Criminal Code, in order to discuss the possibility of euthanasia, i.e. death with dignity.

Is it sustainable to open the legal door to euthanasia in Ecuador?: experts analyze Paola Roldán’s request before the Constitutional Court

Of course, this column is a sincere tribute to the courage of Paola who, heading towards death – like everyone else, because it is our fate – decided to start this discussion with the earth, in a frontal and honest way. In her public statements, she recalled the obvious: the absence of regulations does not mean that the search for a dignified death is not practiced secretly. The fundamental legal debate is about human dignity: do we deserve to die wrapped in suffering and addiction, when medically we have no hope of recovery? Recently, the last column of the writer Carlos Alberto Montaner was published posthumously, which, according to his own plan, was a plea for euthanasia. Due to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), he decided to die with dignity: “My everyday life, in which reading, writing and oral expression were my hallmark, is being erased day by day. My body has not been with me for a long time either.”

Paola Roldán, a 42-year-old Ecuadorian who suffers from a rare disease, suggests opening a debate on euthanasia

I firmly believe in the right to die with dignity. The Constitution of Ecuador and all international human rights instruments contain, at their core, the concept of human dignity. It is necessary for society to conduct this discussion and for the Constitutional Court to seriously decide to understand that death is a part of life and that no one can be forced to go through this experience with pain and dehumanization. In fact, I believe that Paola’s case reflects the urgency of this issue: there are certainly many cases of people suffering from incurable diseases and who suffer all kinds of pain every day, without the possibility of choosing a dignified death. This is a case that clearly requires prioritization.

‘Every voice that joins strengthens this cause that belongs to all of us’: Paola Roldán, before a law firm supports her fight for euthanasia

For the rest, Paola bought forty gifts that she would gradually give to her son over the next four decades. It seems to me, however, that the great gift he leaves is the courage to propose this crucial debate to the country. She is a primeval example of that human dignity that, despite the horrors, gives meaning to humanity. Perhaps Paola’s gift is also contemplation or a stoic view of life’s problems. As well as the possibility that her son remembers her as the strong, happy and determined woman she was, and not a body defeated by an illness. Thank you very much, Paola Roldán! (OR)