health
What is the situation of euthanasia in Colombia and Latin America
Euthanasia is performed more and more frequently. Photo: Hiroshi Tsubono - Unsplash
TL;DR
- Euthanasia is the voluntary and assisted medical procedure to end the life of a person with a severe, incurable, or terminal illness causing intense suffering.
- In Colombia, euthanasia is legal due to a series of court rulings, starting with a 1997 decision that decriminalized it for terminal patients.
- Subsequent court decisions in Colombia expanded the right to die with dignity to include those with serious, incurable, non-terminal illnesses.
- Colombia is one of the few Latin American countries where euthanasia is legal, but it is governed by judicial decisions and administrative resolutions, not by a law passed by Congress.
- The absence of a specific law in Colombia leads to debates among legal experts, doctors, and civil associations for clearer regulation.
- Most other Latin American countries, including Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Mexico, still criminalize euthanasia in some form, although discussions on assisted dying are emerging.