In February of this year, Peruvian Maria Teresa Benito Orihuela, 66, who suffers from advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and relies on an external respirator to survive, obtained a court order to end her life with dignity. However, 12 doctors at the Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital where she is being treated have refused to disconnect the equipment, citing religious freedom and conscientious objection.
Orihuela’s lawyers sued the Peruvian court again in an attempt to enforce compliance with the first decision. According to a ruling by the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, Peru’s public health insurer EsSalud has until May 7th to find a doctor who agrees to turn off the devices.
This case follows in the footsteps of Ana Estrada, who died on April 21st after a legal battle in Peru to end her own life due to a degenerative disease. Estrada’s case was considered the first legal euthanasia in Peru, with decisions made by the Court ratified by the Supreme Court on July 14 and 27th.
The Conference of Peruvian Episcopal expressed concern about the court’s decision on euthanasia. “Euthanasia will always be the wrong path,” they said in a statement. “It is an attack on the inalienable right to life.” Other Latin American countries have also followed this same path. In February, Ecuador legalized euthanasia when their Constitutional Court changed the legal framework for cases involving people with serious and incurable illnesses or irreversible injuries. In December, Cuba approved euthanasias in their new Cuban Public Health Law under Castro dictatorship subservience. And since 1997, Colombia has allowed euthanasia but regulated it only in 2015 when hospitals began performing assisted suicide on terminally ill patients.
