Activist Ana Estrada said she feels free, owner of her body and rights, after been informed of
the decision of the Eleventh Constitutional Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, which ordered the Ministry of Health (Minsa) and the Social Health Insurance System (EsSalud) to respect her decision to end her life through the technical procedure of euthanasia.
"What I have always been clear about and thought is that when the moment comes, and it has come, I would be free. This is the battle I have fought throughout this time. It is not that I want to die or make statements justifying death but, on the contrary, continue until the last chapter of my life, with the way I think, with the way I develop, as I have always done, taking my own decisions," she told RPP radio and TV station.
Estrada —who has an irreversible terminal disease that keeps her in bed with artificial respiration— demands authorities to allow her make use of assisted dying, given that it is impossible for her to have a dignified life.
This desire was fulfilled by the Ombudsman's Office, through a protective action, which made its first pronouncement on Thursday.
"I feel that a great door has been opened for me (...) that I am being told 'you are the owner of your body, of your decisions, of your life.' The fact of recognizing that I have a right over my life is a great achievement. There are many people who are still unable to understand it, who say 'well, if she wants to die, let her die;' but they did not understand that it is a right," she added.
The Eleventh Constitutional Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima ordered the Ministry of Health and the Social Health Insurance System (EsSalud) to respect Estrada's decision to end her life through the technical procedure of euthanasia, with the assistance of a doctor who would administer a drug (orally or intravenously) or perform a medical procedure to that end.
The court stipulates that Article 112 of the current Criminal Code shall not be applied in the case of Ana Estrada, so those who assist her throughout the process will not be prosecuted as long as it is practiced in an institutional manner and subject to the control of legality and during the time and opportunity stated by her, as she cannot do it herself.
(END) DOP/SRE/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 25/2/2021