Ecuador has become the second Latin American country to decriminalize euthanasia, following a lawsuit from a woman battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.
In 2023, Paola Roldán filed a lawsuit seeking to have article 144 of the Comprehensive Penal Code declared unconstitutional. Euthanasia and assisted suicide were previously illegal, and the penalty for helping someone kill themselves was up to 13 years in prison. “I want to rest in peace. What I experience is painful, lonely and cruel,” Roldán, who is bedridden, said during a court hearing through a video link. “This is not a fight to die. I know I’m dying, it’s a fight on how to do it.”
The Constitutional Court then voted in her favor, with seven out of nine justices agreeing that the penalty “cannot be applied to a doctor who performs an active euthanasia procedure in order to preserve the rights to a dignified life.”
But the reality is that most people who choose assisted suicide or euthanasia do so not because they fear a painful, prolonged death, but due to fears of losing autonomy or of being a burden on their loved ones. And while other people who become suicidal are given resources and help to encourage them to see the value of their life, if the suicidal person is elderly, disabled, or ill, then suicide suddenly becomes acceptable.
READ: Study: Assisted suicide can be painful, prolonged and inhumane
Roldán applauded the decision afterwards in a press conference. “This has been a very special moment for me,” she said. “I am grateful to everyone because today Ecuador is a little more welcoming, freer, and more dignified.” She is now able to be euthanized whenever she chooses, and said she will make that decision with help from her lawyers.
In addition to decriminalizing euthanasia, the court ordered the Ministry of Health to prepare euthanasia regulations within two months, as well as for the ombudsman’s office to prepare a bill to be presented to the National Assembly.
