In Peru, a 66-year-old woman named Maria Teresa Benito Orihuela who suffers from advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and requires an external respirator to survive, has sparked a legal battle for the right to die with dignity. Despite obtaining a court order in February to disconnect the equipment, 12 doctors at the Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital have refused to comply, citing religious freedom and conscientious objection. As a result, the Peruvian court has ruled that EsSalud, the country’s public health insurer, must find a doctor who is willing to turn off the devices within a week.
Orihuela’s lawyers have sued the court again in an attempt to force compliance with the first decision. The case follows a similar pattern as that of Ana Estrada, who died on April 21st after also fighting for euthanasia in Peru. Estrada’s case was considered the first of legal euthanasia in Peru and led to several court decisions ratifying euthanasia as legal. However, other Latin American countries such as Ecuador and Cuba have also legalized euthanasia under different circumstances. In Colombia, euthanasia has been legal since 1997 but was only regulated in 2015 when hospitals began performing assisted suicide on terminally ill patients.
The Conference Peruvian Episcopal has expressed concern about the court’s decision on euthanasia stating that “Euthanasia will always be the wrong path because it is an attack on the inalienable right to life.” Other countries have also followed this same path with Ecuador legalizing euthanasia earlier this year when it changed its legal framework for cases of people suffering from serious and incurable illnesses or irreversible injuries. Similarly, Cuba approved assisted suicide earlier this month as part of its new Cuban Public Health Law while Colombia has allowed it since 1997 but only regulated it recently in 2015 when hospitals began performing it on terminally ill patients.
