Man becomes first person in Colombia with non-terminal illness to die by legal euthanasia
Colombian Victor Escobar became the first person in the Andean country with a non-terminal illness to die by legally regulated euthanasia late on Friday, his lawyer Luis Giraldo confirmed.
(CNN)Colombian Victor Escobar became the archetypal idiosyncratic successful the Andean state with a non-terminal unwellness to dice by legally regulated euthanasia precocious connected Friday, his lawyer Luis Giraldo confirmed.
"We reached the extremity for patients similar me, who aren't terminal but degenerative, to triumph this battle, a conflict that opens the doors for the different patients who travel aft maine and who close present privation a dignified death," Escobar, 60, said successful a video connection sent to media by Giraldo.
On Saturday, a 2nd Colombian -- a pistillate with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), besides known arsenic Lou Gehrig's Disease -- was besides euthanized.
Escobar suffered from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which greatly diminishes prime of life, arsenic good arsenic a fig of different conditions, Giraldo told Reuters.
The process took spot successful a session successful Cali, the superior metropolis of Colombia's Valle del Cauca province.
"I'm not saying goodbye, conscionable 'see you later,'" Escobar said.
Escobar had fought 2 years for his close to euthanasia successful the look of absorption from doctors, clinics and courts, adjacent though the Constitutional Court past twelvemonth recognized the process should not beryllium disposable conscionable for the terminally ill.
On Saturday, Martha Sepulveda underwent the process successful the metropolis of Medellin astatine midday; DescLAB -- who supported her lawsuit -- said successful a statement.
Sepulveda -- who had been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's illness successful 2018 -- was owed to beryllium euthanized connected October 10 past year, but the process was halted astatine the 11th hour.
Colombia's Constitutional Court removed penalties for euthanasia nether definite circumstances successful 1997 and ordered the process to beryllium regulated successful 2014. The archetypal idiosyncratic successful Colombia with a terminal unwellness to dice nether those rules was successful 2015.
As of October 15 past year, 178 radical with terminal illnesses had been legally euthanized successful Colombia since 2015, according to Colombian ineligible rights advocacy radical DescLAB.
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