Martha Sepúlveda, 51, finally got her wish.
The devout Roman Catholic died by euthanasia on Saturday morning in a clinic in Medellín, Colombia, in the company of her family.
But it was a long road for the woman who made headlines when she asked to be allowed to die by euthanasia without an immediate terminal prognosis — those expected to live for six months or less — arguing that she did not want to wait for even more pain and difficulties from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease, an incurable and degenerative disease.
“God does not want to see me suffer,” Sepúlveda said last fall in a television interview with Colombia’s Caracol network that went viral.
But the clinic that authorized the procedure last October canceled the euthanasia at the last minute — just 36 hours before.
Sepúlveda immediately fought back in the courts, and the judges agreed with her. “Forcing a person to prolong his existence for an indeterminate time, when he does not want to and suffers deep afflictions is equivalent to cruel and inhuman treatment,” the judge stated in his sentence.
Based on this decision, Martha was able to choose a new date and time for her dignified death and decided to do it on Saturday morning, Jan. 8.
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The 20th Civil Court of the Medellín Circuit settled the discussion by responding to the appeal presented by the woman’s lawyers. “The judge recognized that it is up to each person to judge and define what type of suffering he considers unworthy and incompatible with his idea of dignity,” explained Lucas Correa Montoya, Sepúlveda’s lawyer.
“It is not up to doctors or public opinion, or the church, to determine who suffers more or who suffers less,” he said.
“The reaffirmation of my rights at this very complex moment in my life fills me with joy and reaffirms my confidence in justice,” Sepúlveda said in a letter published after the court’s ruling.
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Article URL : https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/woman-wanted-die-illness-killed-finally-got-wish-rcna11672