Euthanasia, a nearby option in Uruguay

“Painless, peaceful and respectful of their dignity.” This is how the death of those who decide to take advantage of this right should be, according to the text promoted by two deputies: the lawyer Ope Pasquet, of the Colorado Party (center-right), one of the five that make up the government coalition, and the doctor Luis Gallo, of the opposition Frente Amplio (left).

In this secular country, 55% of the population is in favor of approving euthanasia, according to a survey by the consulting firm Cifra released at the end of July, which shows that among believers of any religion, 44% agree and 34% against.

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With an “Advance Will” law in existence since 2013, which allows terminal patients to oppose receiving treatment that prolongs their life, the new project seeks to abolish the current punishment of the Penal Code of between 6 months and 6 years in prison for those who “determine the other to suicide or will help him/her to commit it”.

Pasquet began this process in 2020 with the drafting of a project that decriminalized in Uruguay the medical practice of procedures that triggered death; later, thanks to the push of civil society, Gallo developed another project that went further and proposed recognizing euthanasia as a right.

Finally, and after intense debates, both projects were unified in a broad consensus, which could be discussed in September or October by the Chamber of Representatives (Deputies), explains Gallo.

SAY ENOUGH

In this way, Uruguay, a country internationally recognized for its advances in civil rights and liberties, would add a new legislation that accompanies “the transition that means going from life to death” in a way “as liberating and as painless as possible.”

This is how activist and psychiatrist Clara Fassler, a member of the Muerte Digna Uruguay group, from which, along with other pro-euthanasia groups, made contributions and reviews of the work of parliamentarians, illustrates for Efe the meaning of euthanasia.