The debate about the euthanasia and assisted suicide is gaining strength internationally, making it a central issue for those suffering from terminal illnesses o irreversible conditions. In this context, countries such as Netherlands, Belgium y Colombia They advanced in the regulation of assisted dying, with the aim of guaranteeing their citizens a dignified death.
However, the implementation of these practices is a controversial terrain, marked by cultural, ethical and legal differences.
Euthanasia is defined as the direct intervention of a medical professional to cause the death of a person, at their request, in order to alleviate unbearable suffering caused by a serious illness. ANDThis practice can be activewhere means are used to cause death, or passive, in which medical treatments that keep the person alive are withdrawn.
On the other hand, assisted suicide consists of the patient, with medical support, administering himself a lethal substance that ends his life. Unlike euthanasia, in assisted suicide the patient is the active agent of his or her death.
So far, nine countries have legalized active euthanasia under certain circumstances: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, Portugal and Ecuador; while assisted suicide is allowed in ten nations, including Switzerland, a pioneer country in this type of intervention.
Latin America, traditionally conservative on bioethical issues, it began to address the right to die with dignity, although with uneven progress. One of the most recent and emblematic cases is that of Paola Roldán, an Ecuadorian diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SHE). After years of struggle, the Court of Ecuador decriminalized euthanasia in February, thus making the country the second in the region to allow it.
Colombia, despite being a pioneer in the region, still faces challengess. Although the Constitutional Court issued multiple rulings regulating euthanasia, Congress did not promulgate a definitive law regulating its application. In other countries, such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, the focus is on the patient’s rights to refuse invasive treatments, but euthanasia remains illegal.
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2024-10-02 00:12:23