Colombia: the euthanasia of Martha Sepúlveda was canceled a few hours after the procedure | After examination of the file

The euthanasia of Colombian Martha Sepúlveda, which was scheduled for this Sunday at 7 a.m., was prematurely canceled after a review of the case, as reported in a statement from the Colombian Pain Institute, the clinical center where it was to be performed.

The woman was to be the first person to undergo the procedure in Colombia without suffering from a terminal illness. According to the press release, the Interdisciplinary Scientific Committee for the Right to Die with Dignity “unanimously concluded that the procedure was canceled” by concluding that “The termination criterion is not fulfilled as it had been envisaged in the first committee” who assessed your case.

Since being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a serious and incurable disease, her family have said the 51-year-old’s life has turned into turmoil.

In his last interview on Caracol TV, Sepúlveda said: “I’m a Catholic person, I consider myself a very, very believer. But God doesn’t want me to suffer. With lateral sclerosis the way I have it, the best thing that can happen to me is I go get some rest. “

In Colombia, euthanasia was decriminalized in 1997, but only became law in 2015. Since then, 157 procedures have been carried out. Last July, the country’s Constitutional Court extended the right to a dignified death to those who suffer “severe physical or mental suffering” as a result of an incurable injury or illness. Martha Sepúlveda’s case would become the first case where euthanasia was allowed in a patient who did not have a terminal illness.

Full declaration

The Interdisciplinary Scientific Committee for the Right to Die with Dignity through Euthanasia of the Colombian Institute of Pain SAS, according to a meeting on October 8 this year, during which the request of Ms. Martha Liria Sepúlveda, concluded unanimously to the cancellation of the procedure to die with dignity through euthanasia, scheduled for October 10, 2021.

The annulment decision is based on article 26, 26.6 of 2021 resolution 971 of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which instructs the Committee as part of its functions to review the application process and the complete euthanasia procedure, in order to detect any situation that affects its development. This is why, by having an updated conception of the state of health and the evolution of the patient, it is defined that the termination criterion is not respected, as was envisaged in the first committee.