Vlado Mirosevic, a deputy of Chile`s Liberal Party, who presented a blocked euthanasia project in Congress in 2014, agreed with Álvarez in an interview with DW: “The signal from the Colombian judicial system is very strong. In the case of Chile, it hits us hard, because our bill contains exactly what happened to the case of Victor Escobar in Colombia, who does not have an incurable disease and whose right is recognized by the courts. #HILO | A great debate developed around the request for #eutanasia of a #colombiana citizen, which was cancelled after a second examination by the experts. We invite you to learn more about the struggle for a dignified death pic.twitter.com/jDjLvBDKB3 the patient must confirm their will to die at least four times during the process. that it can be extended by a little more than one month from the first request and that you can revoke or postpone euthanasia at any time. According to the World Medical Association (WMA), euthanasia is “the deliberate act of ending a patient`s life, even of one`s own free will or at the request of parents, and is unethical.” ISTOCK Currently, there are no more countries that completely decriminalize euthanasia. There are places where physician-assisted suicide is allowed, which, unlike euthanasia, does not require direct intervention by physicians. In the world, there are organizations and associations for euthanasia, so they have promoted initiatives in their respective countries to keep this action allowed or prohibited. In the case of the Netherlands, it was the first country where it was approved in 2002 after various court decisions.
In 1973, a doctor was convicted of letting his mother die with dignity after repeatedly requesting euthanasia. Euthanasia was decriminalized in Belgium in May 2002. Since then, the Federal Law Enforcement Oversight Commission has recorded an increasing number of statements. With a population of about 11 million, euthanasia exceeded a thousand cases per year in Belgium in 2011 and two thousand cases per year in 2015. From 2002 to 2019, more than 22,000 people were officially euthanized in Belgium. In 2014, the Belgian Senate extended the euthanasia law to terminally ill children. At that time, Belgium was the only country in Europe where euthanasia was allowed for minors. [16] Colombia is the only country in Latin America to have legalized euthanasia. After decriminalization in 1997, the first regulation in 2015 and Resolution 971 of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the mechanism of the process was put in place in July this year. In the United States, the first states to legalize assisted suicide were Oregon in 1994, Washington in 2008, Montana in 2009 (by a state Supreme Court decision) and Vermont in 2013.
The number of states adopting the practice has increased recently, with California and Colorado legalized in 2016, Hawaii, New Jersey and Maine in 2019, and New Mexico in 2021. Active euthanasia remains illegal in the country. In April 2002, the Netherlands set a precedent by becoming the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia. Soon after, Belgium and Luxembourg followed their neighbour`s lead. These three places are currently the only places in Europe where “euthanasia” is allowed. More recently, Colombia and Canada have protected this practice in their legislation, although each standard has its own nuances. Euthanasia, a requested medical intervention aimed at ending a life with no prospect of recovery and immediately, is an issue that divides many people around the world. There are few countries on the planet where euthanasia is decriminalized, including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Colombia. It was the first place in the world to approve active euthanasia in April 2002, following various court decisions that paved the way for legislation. In the United States, Oregon (1994), Washington (2008), Montana (2009, by court order), Vermont (2013), California (2015), Colorado (2016), Washington D.C.
(2016), Hawaii (2018), New Jersey (2019), Maine (2019) and New Mexico (2021) are eligible for assisted suicide if the expected survival is six months or less. In Mexico, euthanasia is not legal, but there is the precautionary law and the researcher from the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health of the Faculty of Medicine, Asunción Álvarez, explains what it is. Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg had refused to sign the law on euthanasia, a requirement required by the country`s constitution. Supporters of Parliament were so determined to legalize euthanasia that they passed a constitutional amendment to eliminate this requirement and reduce the power of the monarch. [17] The Netherlands (2001), Belgium (2002), Luxembourg (2008) and Canada (2016) have euthanasia laws. In Colombia, euthanasia has been a constitutional right since 1998, although it is not yet sufficiently regulated. After the approval of euthanasia in the Netherlands, Belgium joined in legalizing the process. In 2014, it became the second country to endorse this process for terminally ill children under the age of 18. After a vote in parliament with 202 votes in favour, 141 against and two abstentions, the European nation joined the short list of countries where euthanasia is legal and recognizes the right of terminally ill patients to a “dignified death”. In Colombia, euthanasia was decriminalized in 1997, but only became law in 2015. Since then, 157 processes have been completed.
Official data show that the number of euthanasia cases has increased more or less continuously since 2002, reaching 6361 in 2019. These cases represent only a small portion of all deaths, but have doubled from just under 2% in 2002 to just over 4% in 2019. [13] [14] As the author of several books on the subject, she has noted that euthanasia legislation has been hampered by the beliefs of people who have the capacity to intervene in countries` public policies and prevent legislation from approving it. It`s a complicated subject: some people have the idea that it`s against God, and if they`re religious, they think it`s a bad thing, “and so it`s sold, not as a personal choice, but as something that some decide rather than others.” Other countries in the region have laws that allow passive euthanasia. Passive euthanasia, when the death of the patient in an irreversible situation is achieved by the suspension of medical treatment, is recognized under certain conditions in the laws of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Switzerland has allowed assisted suicide since the forties of the last century. Hence the existence of organizations that help foreigners from Italy, France or Spain to face their demands to “die with dignity”. In Italy and France, the legislation is similar to that of Spain and euthanasia is prohibited. Only seven countries in the world legalize euthanasia: Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and the Netherlands, the latter being the first countries to have approved this procedure in April 2002. Since 2009, there have been 112 reported requests for euthanasia for a country of approximately 600,000 people. The following graph shows the evolution by year. [18] [19] As with legislation, those eligible for euthanasia or assisted suicide vary widely around the world, ranging from terminally ill or degenerative patients to those in severe pain or terminal illness.
Alvarez del Rio explained that family matters a lot. In the Netherlands, there are studies on how they deal with grief; While we can`t generalize, someone who says they want to die of euthanasia is forcing us to talk about what`s going on. “There is room for goodbyes, words and feelings when it comes to a separation because of a person`s death. Grief has been shown to be better because all of this is done before someone dies; Grief depends on what you do to the person before they are physically lost. Asunción Álvarez, president of the World Federation of Right to Die Societies (WFRtDS), told DW: “Everything that has been put forward (in Colombia) has a very positive impact on Latin America. In Mexico, when it comes to legalizing euthanasia, the Netherlands is cited as an example, but opponents say Mexico is very different and has different values. Alvarez also believes it: “The Catholic Church has great influence to impose its faith,” he said. But aside from religious grounds, opponents of euthanasia say it is “not necessary because palliative care can solve any disease; But if it is important that these exist, it is not true that they are enough to eliminate this desire of some people who consider their lives unworthy, “concluded the expert.