Martha Sepúlveda: Colombian woman suffering from ALS dies after euthanasia

In Colombia, euthanasia has been legal since 1997, but it was not practiced until 2015.

Sepúlveda had scheduled to be euthanized on October 10, but shortly before they canceled the procedure.

Sepúlveda was to be the first person in Colombia who, without suffering a terminal illness, would receive euthanasia.

But Colombian Institute of Pain (IPS Incodol), the private clinic that treated Sepúlveda, announced its suspension 36 hours before the procedure occurred.

The IPS Incodol’s argument was that the requirement that his illness be terminal was not met.

That suspension was overturned in late October by a judge, who ordered the IPS Incodol “comply with the provisions of the interdisciplinary scientific committee to die with dignity” in a ruling of August 6.

In that resolution, a panel of specialists had determined that the patient met “the requirements to exercise her right to die with dignity through euthanasia,” the judge said.

The magistrate then considered that the IPS Incodol had violated “the fundamental rights to die with dignity, to a dignified life, to the free development of the personality and human dignity of Martha Sepúlveda,” for which he ordered that a new date be determined for the euthanasia.

The case Januaryó a broad debate in the Latin American country on the right to opt for assisted death.

In an interview broadcast in September by Noticias Caracol, Sepúlveda had told about his wish to die.

“If it is from the spiritual plane, I am totally calm (…) I will be a coward, but I do not want to suffer anymore, I am tired. I fight to rest,” said the woman, who then added that the certainty of dying gave her “tranquility “.

Since she was diagnosed, the woman he began to lose strength in his legs and it became increasingly difficult to walk long distances, which worsened their quality of life.

On Friday, the day before Sepúlveda was euthanized, the first procedure of this type was performed in Colombia in that country and in Latin America with a non-terminal patient.

Víctor Escobar, a 60-year-old Colombian transporter, became the first case hours earlier.

He suffered from several incurable degenerative conditions: obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypertension, in addition to having suffered two strokes in 2008.

He had mobility problems and needed oxygen in his daily life. He had also had spinal surgery three times after a car accident in his youth.

Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC News Mundo. Download our app and activate them so you don’t miss our best content.