The approved project seeks to guarantee the right to ‘undergo the dying process with dignity’ for mentally fit adults who are going through the terminal stage of incurable and irreversible diseases
The Senate of approved this Wednesday (15) the project called the Dignified Death law, with which the country legalized . After more than ten hours of debate, all senators from the ruling Frente Amplio party expressed themselves in favor of the initiative, as did some opponents from the Colorado Party and the National Party. The approved project seeks to guarantee the right to “undergo the dying process with dignity” by decriminalizing euthanasia for mentally fit adults who are going through the terminal stage of incurable and irreversible diseases or who suffer, because of them, unbearable suffering.
“Natural or legal Uruguayan citizens and foreigners who reliably prove their habitual residence in the territory of the Republic will be able to rely on the provisions contained in this law”, cites the text, which then details the step-by-step procedure for euthanasia. On August 13, Uruguay had taken the first step towards the legalization of euthanasia with the approval of the bill in the Chamber of Deputies. The project advanced to the Senate Public Health Committee, where the legislators who were part of it received different groups to discuss and then approved it, which allowed it to proceed to the plenary.
“This project was built with responsibility. Much debated in deputies, with very direct communication with senators, this project was arrived at. Clear guarantees were established to protect patients, trust was placed in medical professionals and health teams. Individual wishes were respected”, stated senator Daniel Borbonet, from the Frente Amplio. “It is a right to decide. It does not replace what already exists and does not impose conduct. Going through the final process of life with dignity, suffering from an intractable, incurable, irreversible disease, with unbearable suffering and a serious and progressive deterioration in the quality of life is not a crime, and therefore no one should be penalized”, he added.
In the same vein, Colorado senator Ope Pasquet defended the law in an interview with EFE Agency. “The law is necessary, liberal and humanitarian. It is necessary because there are many people who reach the end of their lives affected by incurable and irreversible diseases, with unbearable suffering and that sometimes some want to shorten their lives so as not to suffer until the end”, he declared. Pasquet had presented a project in 2020 to legalize euthanasia that was approved in the Chamber, but failed to obtain the necessary votes in the Senate Health Committee. Now, with a new law already sanctioned, the Executive Branch must regulate it within a period of up to 180 days from promulgation.
*With information from EFE
