Ecuador decriminalized this Wednesday euthanasiabecoming the second Latin American country to give the green light to this procedure after Colombia, following the case of a patient with an incurable and fatal disease.
”The fight for human rights is never a paved road, I thank everyone because today Ecuador is a slightly more welcoming, freer and more dignified country,” Paola Roldán, who promoted the measure, said in a virtual press conference.
With her camera off and speaking slowly, Roldán expressed that she received “very moved and with relief” the ruling of the Constitutional Court, which with seven votes in favor of its nine magistrates opened the door for doctors to help a sick person die. without going to jail.
“Those were days when I thought I would never hear the result of this lawsuit,” added the 43-year-old woman, who has been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for three years, a degenerative and painful disease..
The penalty for homicide “cannot be applied to the doctor who performs an active euthanasia procedure in order to preserve the rights to a dignified life and the free development of the patient’s personality,” the highest constitutional court said in a statement.
In August, Roldán filed a lawsuit against article 144 of the Ecuadorian penal code, which considers the procedure a homicide and punishes it with a prison sentence of between 10 and 13 years.
The ruling agreed with him on the “unconstitutionality” of the section, although the Ministry of Health must still present a bill to Congress to regulate the procedure.
Source: Gestion
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