Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Canceled euthanasia: Martha Sepúlveda was ready to die on Sunday

Family calls the decision 'disrespectful' and 'illegal'. "They did everything in secret".

QCOLOMBIA – 51-year-old Martha Sepúlveda, diagnosed with ALS, had been slated to become the first person in Colombia without a terminal prognosis to die via legally permitted euthanasia.

Martha Sepúlveda’s family calls the decision ‘disrespectful’ and ‘illegal’. “They did everything in secret”.

But the procedure planned for 7 am, Sunday, October 10, was canceled after a medical committee decided that she no longer satisfied the requirements because her health had apparently improved.

Until this year, euthanasia had been legally available in Colombia to individuals with a life expectancy of half a year or less.

- Advertisement -

While ALS is a deadly disease without a cure, it advances at different rates and people can live for years or even decades.

Colombia’s constitutional court ruled earlier this year that the choice of euthanasia applies not just to the terminally ill, but also to individuals experiencing “intense physical or mental suffering from bodily injury or serious and incurable disease.”

A committee of the Instituto Colombiano del Dolor (Incodol) – Colombian Pain Institute –  said in a statement that they were calling off the planned euthanasia, saying that the woman’s case “does not meet the termination criteria,” according to a report.

Camila Jaramillo, lawyer for Sepúlveda, said the Laboratory of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, has pledged to push back against the decision.

- Advertisement -

Responding to the news that the woman’s planned euthanasia had been nixed, Colombia’s Ministry of Health said that an individual who does not have a terminal diagnosis cannot be cleared for euthanasia because the constitutional court has not put out its full ruling on the issue.

Legal experts pushed back against this, saying that court rulings take effect immediately.

- Advertisement -

FACT CHECK:
We strive for accuracy in its reports. But if you see something that doesn't look right, send us an email. The Q reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it's accuracy.

Rico
Rico
"Rico" is the crazy mind behind the Q media websites, a series of onlinemagazines that includes TodayColombia.com. Rico brings his special kind of savvy to online marketing. His websites are engaging, provocative, informative and sometimes off the wall, where you either like or you leave it. The same goes for him, like him or leave him.There is no middle ground. No compromises, only a passion to present reality as he sees it!

Related Articles

Colombia has one of the lowest minimum wages in Latin America

QCOLOMBIA - 2023 starts and with it many of the workers...

Colombia and Venezuela reopen border crossing after 7 years

QCOLOMBIA - Colombia and Venezuela on Monday, September 26, 2022, reopened...
- paying the bills -

MOST READ

- paying the bills -

WANT TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE LATEST!

Get our daily newsletter with the latest posts directly in your mailbox. Click on the subscribe and fill out the form. It's that simple!