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.”

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    27 months ago

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    LIMA, Peru — 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.

    She began to present the first symptoms as a teenager and started to use a wheelchair at the age of 20 because she had lost the strength to walk.

    And even though she could not type, Estrada used transcription software to produce a blog called “Ana for a death with dignity,” where she discussed her struggles and her decision to seek euthanasia.

    Some U.S. states including Maine and Oregon allow physician-assisted suicide, where a doctor provides a terminally ill patient with the means to end life.

    Euthanasia is illegal in most Latin American countries except for Colombia, which legalized it in 2015, and Ecuador, which decriminalized the practice in February.


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