The pro-death movement has worked tirelessly to expand access to euthanasia. The right to Life is not only attacked from the beginning of life but also at the end. Many regions, including America, have seen increased acceptance of euthanasia, or what is described as “death with dignity.” The next target of this horrific movement is South America, a heavily Roman Catholic region. Three out of the twelve countries that make up South America have allowed deaths by euthanasia.
Colombia was the first South American country to legalize euthanasia in 1997. At the time, patients with terminal illnesses could be euthanized if they experienced extreme suffering and had authorization from a doctor. Over the years the law has expanded to allow the euthanization of children and those who are not even terminally ill. In 2022, Colombia’s constitutional court stated that all Colombians had a right to one form of euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide. Victor Escobar, a man who suffered from a non-terminal illness, died from assisted suicide that same year.
In February of this year, Ecuador became the second country in South America to establish the “right to die.” In Ecuador, euthanasia was considered a “crime of homicide,” and the penal code does not have exceptions. Paola Roldan, a woman suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disease, filed a lawsuit with the country’s constitutional court asking them to allow her to die. The court decided to decriminalize euthanasia, establishing the “right to die,” and Paola died in March of this year by assisted suicide.
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47-year-old psychologist Ana Estrada became the first person in Peru to die by assisted suicide in April of 2024. She suffered from polymyositis, an inflammatory muscle disease. She filed a lawsuit in 2016, and Peru’s Supreme Court stated that Ana had a “right to decide when to end her life.” The court added that those who helped Ana end her life would not be prosecuted. Ana’s case was the first time in the country’s history that the highest court authorized a person to die by assisted suicide.
Although only three of the twelve Latin countries have decriminalized physician-assisted suicide, there is a rapid progression. Uruguay’s legislature has filed assisted suicide bills, but none have been successful. Chile is not far behind; Chile’s president has stated that he will promote an assisted suicide bill.
Financial interest is also a driving factor, as the expenses associated with caring for an ill patient far outweigh the cost of assisted suicide. Countries like Peru save money when they allow the lawful killing of vulnerable patients.
Euthanasia is often upheld as a merciful and dignified way to die. This false narrative claims that euthanasia allows the suffering to practice self-autonomy and die on their own terms. The truth is that the state-sanctioned killing of an innocent person threatens a precious human Life. Euthanasia is not dignified, and it does not treat illness. Instead of helping vulnerable people, it offers death as the solution to their suffering. Euthanasia is the antithesis of human respect and dignity, and we must not allow this death-on-demand culture to claim the majority opinion.
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