Ana Estrada a Peruvian psychologist, who battled an incurable disease that progressively weakened her muscles and left her bedridden for several years, passed away through euthanasia. Her lawyer confirmed this on Monday, marking her as the first person in the country to exercise the right to die with medical assistance.
Ana Estrada spent years battling in Peruvian courts to secure the right to die with dignity. Her efforts garnered attention in the conservative country, where both euthanasia and assisted suicide remain illegal.
She received an exception from the nation’s Supreme Court in 2022. The court upheld a ruling by a lower court that granted her the right to determine when to end her life. Additionally, it was clarified that those who assisted her would not face punishment.
Estrada made history by becoming the inaugural individual in Peru to gain the right to receive medical assistance for ending her life.
“According to her lawyer, Josefina Miro Quesada, Ana’s fight for the right to die with dignity not only educated thousands of Peruvians about this crucial right but also had an impact beyond our nation’s borders.”
Ana Estrada, aged 47, grappled with polymyositis—a degenerative disease that progressively weakens muscles and lacks a cure. She first experienced symptoms during her teenage years and eventually relied on a wheelchair by the age of 20 due to her diminished ability to walk.
Despite these challenges, Estrada achieved a psychology degree and worked as a therapist. Her earnings allowed her to purchase her own apartment, granting her independence from her parents.
In 2017, Ana Estrada’s health deteriorated significantly, rendering her bedridden and unable to rise. Despite her inability to type, she utilized transcription software to create a blog titled “Ana for a Death with Dignity.” In this blog, she openly shared her challenges and her choice to pursue euthanasia.
“I am no longer free,” she said in an interview with the Associated Press in 2018. “I am not the same person I was before.”
Assisted by Peru’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Estrada successfully secured a legal victory that granted her the right to undergo euthanasia.
Despite being bedridden, she actively participated in court proceedings via video conferences. In 2022, Estrada expressed her appreciation for life but emphasized her desire to retain the autonomy to choose when to end her own life.
“I want to accede to euthanasia when I can no longer sustain suffering in life,” she said. “And when I decide to bid farewell to my loved ones in peace and with tranquillity.”
Legalizing euthanasia remains a rarity, with only a few countries—such as Canada, Belgium, and Spain—having done so. In the United States, certain states like Maine and Oregon permit physician-assisted suicide, where doctors offer terminally ill patients the means to end their lives.
Across most Latin American nations, euthanasia remains illegal, except for Colombia (which legalized it in 2015) and Ecuador (which decriminalized the practice in February).
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