It is 18 years since the Columbian Supreme Court decided to view euthanasia as a “constitutional right”. However, the first directives aimed at facilitating total access and creating a specific legal framework have just been announced by Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria.
The minister informed the media that fully conscious adults suffering from a terminal disease will be allowed to request euthanasia. Unconscious patients will only be granted euthanasia if their relatives can provide a video, recording or written proof in which the patient clearly expressed his/her wishes.
This announcement is opposed by the Columbian Church, which describes these measures as “a serious violation of patient dignity and the sacred dimension of the fundamental right to life recognised in Article 11 of the Constitution”.
BioEdge (Michel Cook), 25/04/2015