First Colombian with non-terminal sickness dies legally by euthanasia

Colombian Victor Escobar turned the primary particular person within the Andean nation with a non-terminal sickness to die by legally regulated euthanasia late on Friday, his lawyer Luis Giraldo confirmed.

“We reached the goal for patients like me, who aren’t terminal but degenerative, to win this battle, a battle that opens the doors for the other patients who come after me and who right now want a dignified death,” Escobar, 60 stated in a video message despatched to media by Giraldo.On Saturday, a second Colombian, a girl with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALA), also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, was euthanized. Victor Escobar leans on the shoulder of his spouse Diana Nieto at their house in Cali, Colombia October 19, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)Escobar suffered from end-stage power obstructive pulmonary illness, which significantly diminishes high quality of life, in addition to quite a lot of different situations, Giraldo instructed Reuters.The process befell in a clinic in Cali, the capital metropolis of Colombia’s Valle del Cauca province.”I’m not saying goodbye, just ‘see you later,'” Escobar stated.Escobar had fought two-years for his proper to euthanasia within the face of opposition from medical doctors, clinics and courts, regardless that the Constitutional Court final yr acknowledged the process shouldn’t be accessible only for the terminally sick.On Saturday, Martha Sepulveda underwent the process within the metropolis of Medellin at noon, DescLAB – who supported her case – stated in a press release. Victor Escobar speaks together with his spouse Diana Nieto at their house in Cali, Colombia October 19, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)Sepulveda, who had been identified with Lou Gehrig’s illness in 2018, was attributable to be euthanized on Oct. 10 final yr, however the process was halted on the eleventh hour.Colombia’s Constitutional Court eliminated penalties for euthanasia underneath sure circumstances in 1997 and ordered the process to be regulated in 2014. The first particular person in Colombia with a terminal sickness to die underneath these guidelines was in 2015.As of Oct. 15 final yr, 178 individuals with terminal sicknesses had been legally euthanized in Colombia since 2015, in line with Colombian authorized rights advocacy group DescLAB.ALSO READ: Coronavirus pandemic escalated into ‘syndemic’ for power illness sufferers: Study