Ana Estrada fought successfully in court to obtain the right to decide when to end her life with the help of medical professionals.
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years died by euthanasia, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance, her lawyer said Monday.
Ana Estrada fought for years in Peruvian courts for the right to die with dignity, and became a celebrity in the conservative country where euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal.
In 2022, Estrada was granted an exception by the nation’s Supreme Court, which upheld a ruling by a lower court that gave Estrada the right to decide when to end her life, and said that those who helped her would not be punished. Estrada became the first person to obtain the right to die with medical assistance in Peru.
“Ana’s struggle for her right to die with dignity has helped to educate thousands of Peruvians about this right and the importance of defending it,” her lawyer, Josefina Miró Quesada, said in a statement. “Her struggle transcended our nation’s borders.”
That’s the same thinking that allows governments to justify poking holes in cryptography, only in reverse. “Oh we have to catch the terrorists and the PDF files.” Oh yeah? What about the journalists, the political dissidents, the leakers? All swept under the same rug.
Saying that some people who will abuse the privelige is kind of wild though. Imagine going through the process for what, 4 years… 6 years, if getting a dignified end in the Netherlands, being constantly monitored by psychiatrists and talking with family members, as if it’s as easy as getting a smoke.
In fact, that’s a great episode idea for South Park. Cartman disappears for a few years and we only get glimpses of him facetiming the boys from the Netherlands, because he’s ¼ Dutch (half the broncos have Dutch family lines) - and Cartman absolutely hates the Dutch. After 2 years, he gets bored and comes home.