The Uruguayan Senate approved this Wednesday night (15) the law that legalizes euthanasia, making the country the first in Latin America to authorize the procedure through legislation. The project, called the “Dignified Death Law”, was approved by 20 votes in favor and 11 against, after more than five years of debates in Parliament.
The rule allows doctors to perform the procedure upon formal request from patients in the “terminal phase of an incurable and irreversible pathology” or who are suffering “unbearable pain”, according to the approved text. The request must be made in writing and have the approval of two doctors and witnesses.
The project had the full support of the left-wing Frente Amplio party, two senators from the Colorado Party and National Party senator Graciela Bianchi. The majority of National Party senators and part of Colorado Party senators voted against the proposal, citing a lack of “legal and clinical guarantees”.
In opposition, National Party senator Martín Lema classified the project as “terrible”. Lema warned that the text could open gaps for broad interpretations of chronic diseases, citing that “diabetes is an irreversible disease” and that the law could be applied “based on subjective suffering”.
“This project does not represent me. I refuse to take a step in that direction. My personal position is emphatically contrary. I am not willing to give up this value which is the defense of life”, said Lema. He also expressed indignation at the name of the law: “It really bothers me that they called it ‘Dignified Death’ [a lei]. If death brings dignity, does that mean that the person who is fighting for life is in an unworthy situation? Since when is death the gateway to dignity?”, he stated.
Lema added that the law distorts the concept of natural death: “It stops being natural death when a law is needed to hasten the end of life”, he said. The senator also criticized the stance of the left-wing government currently in charge of Uruguay, led by President Yamandú Orsi, in discussing the project.
“I continue to dream of a society that accompanies, that cares and that does not leave anyone alone, especially in the most difficult situations,” said Lema.
The Catholic Church of Uruguay, which followed the entire parliamentary debate, spoke out against the approval and asked that “the gift of life be defended and remember that every person deserves to be cared for, accompanied and supported until the end”. In a statement, the Archdiocese of Montevideo reinforced that “life is always worth it, even if it needs others to support itself”.
According to the newspaper The Countrythe approved text guarantees doctors and nurses the right to conscientious objection, allowing them to refuse to participate in the procedure. The government, however, must ensure that another professional performs euthanasia when there is a refusal.
The new law also provides that the patient can withdraw the request at any time. If the process is completed, the doctor must notify the Ministry of Health, which will verify whether the procedure followed legal standards. The death certificate must indicate euthanasia as the “final cause of death”.
With the approval of the law, Uruguay joins a restricted group of countries where euthanasia is legal – among them, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada -, but it is the first in Latin America to approve it by parliamentary decision. In Colombia and Ecuador, the procedure was only decriminalized by court decisions, without specific legislation.
The Uruguayan law, which had already been approved in the Chamber of Deputies, should come into force after promulgation by the Executive Branch and regulation by the Ministry of Health.
