The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare adopted Resolution 971, which sets out the procedures to be followed for requests for euthanasia in the country. It also sets out the guidelines that the committee responsible must apply in order for the right to a dignified death to be effective. Women and men agree with euthanasia in almost equal parts. Since 2015, 67 men and 56 women have undergone this procedure. Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and Medellín are the cities with the most access The Constitutional Court of Colombia on July 22 this year expanded the requirements for access and the practice of euthanasia. Colombia is the only country in Latin America where euthanasia is decriminalized. That is what we know about this bill. This week, in the first debate, the First Committee of the House of Representatives approved the bill introduced by Congressman Juan Fernando Reyes Kuri to regulate provisions relating to euthanasia. Although she is Catholic, Sepulveda stressed that her decision to accept euthanasia is not a sin. “I consider myself a great believer in God, but I repeat, God doesn`t want to see me suffer and I believe no one.” From two essential perspectives, such as the synthetic and conclusive consolidation of legal, ecclesiastical and cultural formulations and the conceptual appropriation possessed by patients, their families and caregivers, the question of euthanasia in Colombia is addressed: legal, ecclesiastical and cultural aspects. Using a qualitative methodology, cancer patients and the spiritual and material support staff who accompany them are interviewed to inquire about the level of information they are processing and how this information determines their vital decisions in the face of pain, suffering and death. Similarly, the resolution explicitly states that requests for euthanasia will be accepted by any physician.
“This act of care is not limited to the attending physician or the diagnostic specialty that motivates the end-of-life state.” When requests for euthanasia are received, health professionals activate a protocol of care to determine whether the conditions set out in C-239 of 1997 are met. ● check whether it is a voluntary, informed and unambiguous request for euthanasia;● enter the request in the patient`s medical record from the first moment it is expressed by the patient;● report the request within the first 24 hours. It must also activate the Scientific and Interdisciplinary Committee for the Right to a Dignified Life and verify that the patient meets the criteria for assessing a dignified death. According to a response from the Ministry of Health to a right of petition (see attached document), 94 euthanasia procedures have been carried out since 2015, temporarily distributed as follows: four in 2015; seven in 2016; 16 in 2017; 23 in 2018; and 35 in 2019. So far this year, nine proceedings have taken place, with a deadline of 8 May. It is important to note that despite the fact that the first such court case took place in the country in 2015 on guardianship, euthanasia has been legal since the issuance of Judgment C-239 of 1997, so there is a regime of access to this procedure. Sepúlveda, whose case has gone viral in recent hours, is the first to benefit from an extension of the right to euthanasia approved by Colombia`s Constitutional Court last July. Martha Sepúlveda will be the first patient with a non-terminal diagnosis to accept euthanasia in Colombia on October 10. According to the Laboratory for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (DescLAB), which cites data from the Colombian Ministry of Health, 123 euthanasia procedures have been performed throughout Colombia since 2015 – the year a death with dignity was regulated – and until March 15, 2021. However, this can only be applied if the declaration of consent signed by the patient is submitted, which specifies the fulfillment of his autonomy to practice euthanasia.
In Colombia, euthanasia was decriminalized by C-239 of 1997, a document in which it was devoted to dignified death in addition to the fundamental right to a dignified life. Since then, several judgments have been rendered that approved the medical procedure until the entry into force of the medical procedure on April 20, 2015. According to the law, patients can request euthanasia if they meet one of these requirements: the practice of euthanasia requires that the person be fully informed of their illness and the options available.