In February, Maria Teresa Benito Orihuela, a 66-year-old Peruvian woman who suffers from advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and depends on an external respirator to survive, obtained a court sentence to have a “dignified death.” However, 12 doctors at the Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital in Peru have refused to turn off the equipment, invoking the Religious Freedom Law and conscientious objection. The Peruvian court has ruled that EsSalud, the country’s public health insurer, must find a doctor who is willing to disconnect the equipment within a week.
Orihuela’s lawyers sued the court again to ensure compliance with the first decision. This case follows the same pattern as that of Ana Estrada, who died on April 21st and also suffered from a degenerative disease. Estrada’s case was considered the first legal euthanasia in Peru. The Court’s decisions in Estrada’s case were ratified by the Supreme Court on July 14th and 27th, 2022.
The Conference of Peruvian Episcopal expressed concerns about the court’s decision. “Euthanasia will always be the wrong path because it is an attack on the inalienable right to life,” said Bishop Carlos Cruz Carrasco in a statement. “The supreme purpose of the state is to care for, respect and promote life from its conception to its natural end; therefore no authority can legitimately impose or permit this.” Other Latin American countries have followed similar paths. In February, Ecuador legalized euthanasia when the Constitutional Court changed the legal framework for cases of people suffering from serious and incurable illnesses or irreversible injuries. In December, Cuba approved that euthanasias be authorized in their country as part of their new Cuban Public Health Law. Since 1997, euthanasia has been legal in Colombia but was only regulated in 2015 when hospitals began performing assisted suicide on terminally ill patients.
