Ecuador Court Decriminalizes Euthanasia After Patient’s Lawsuit

Manoj Nair
Ecuador Court Decriminalizes Euthanasia After Patient's Lawsuit

Euthanasia or assisted death of a terminally ill person has been a subject of debate, and many religious and social aspects come into play. Ecuador has become the second nation after Colombia in South America to decriminalize Euthanasia. The ruling was given by the top court in Ecuador after a lawsuit by a terminally ill patient who wanted to end her life honorably.

The topic of Euthanasia has been a subject of debate, and many countries, which include Uruguay and Chile, are debating the subject. Colombia has already legalized euthanasia, while Mexico has in place what is known as a “good death” law, which lets the patient or their family opt out of life support.

Ecuador’s Euthanasia Decision

Ecuador’s Constitutional Court took up a lawsuit of a terminally ill patient who wanted a doctor to end her life in an honorable manner. The lawsuit wanted the court to effect a waiver of homicide charges on the doctor who would perform active euthanasia on the patient so that she could have a dignified end to her life. The lawsuit argued that the patient was already proceeding to an inevitable death and was in a terminal stage. Therefore, the patient wanted to end his life in a dignified manner.

The patient who brought forth the lawsuit was a woman named Paola Roldan, suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a chronic and progressive neurological disease that is untreatable and leads to complete paralysis of the body. Paola Roldan was bedridden but wanted an end to her suffering and demanded euthanasia or assisted death. However, as per the Ecuadorian penal code, homicide could invite a sentence of between 10 and 13 years in prison. If a doctor performs euthanasia, he could face homicide charges.

Roldan contended that she wanted an end to her suffering, which was very painful and cruel. Roldan, who is bedridden, participated in the court proceedings via a video link.

In a broken voice with her face behind an oxygen mask, she added it is not a fight to die since she knows that she is dying but how to do it in a dignified manner.

After hearing the arguments, the court of Ecuador, which is a conservative, majority-Catholic nation, ruled that it would be irrational to force anyone to stay alive, especially in a terminal state. Every human being can make his decision which includes an option to die honorably if he or she is in a terminal state.

The court also ordered the Ecuadorian Health Ministry to make rules and regulations within two months. The Ombudsman’s office has been directed to draft a bill on euthanasia within six months and after it is approved by Congress, it will become a law within one year.

However, Roldan’s lawyers said that the rulings are immediately enforceable. Roldan also tweeted that the fruits of labor are not available immediately and it is akin to someone who plants a tree but its shade will be enjoyed by others in the future. Roldan’s father, however, had mixed emotions, and he said that his daughter has been able to achieve a historic event but the outcome will be the death of his daughter.

However, there is no dearth of detractors and the most vocal critic has been Martha Cecilia Villafuerte, founder and national director of Familia Ecuador who felt that the Constitutional Court has exceeded its limits beyond the purview of the constitution and used a person with a terminal disease to request access to Euthanasia. She dubbed the ruling as a blow against the human dignity and constitutional rights of Ecuadorians. Seven out of nine judges have decided that a terminally ill person can end his life with the help of another person rather than getting all the health care, with all the medical care he or she deserves.

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