LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease which weakened her muscles and left her confined to bed for several years, died after being euthanized by her doctor, 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 obtained an exception from the country’s Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court ruling 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 fight for her right to die with dignity helped educate thousands of Peruvians about this right and the importance of defending it,” said her lawyer, Josefina Miró Quesada, in a statement. “Her fight transcended the borders of our nation.”
Estrada, 47 years old, suffered from polymyositis, a disease that weakens muscles and has no cure.
She began to show her first symptoms in her teens and began using a wheelchair at the age of 20 after losing the strength to walk.
Despite these obstacles, Estrada graduated in psychology and became a therapist. She earned enough money to buy her own apartment and became independent from her parents.
In 2017, however, Estrada’s condition worsened and she was no longer able to get out of bed.
She had difficulty breathing and survived pneumonia. And even without knowing how to 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.
“I’m not free anymore,” she said in an interview with the Associated Press in 2018. “I’m not the same person I was before.”
With the help of Peru’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Estrada won a case that gave him the right to die by euthanasia. From her bed, she participated in court sessions via video conferences.
Estrada told judges in 2022 that he valued life and did not want to die immediately, but wanted the freedom to decide when to end his life.
“I want to embrace euthanasia when I can no longer bear the suffering in life,” she said. “And when I decide to say goodbye to my loved ones in peace and tranquility.”
Only a few countries have legalized euthanasia, including Canada, Belgium and Spain. Some US states, including Maine and Oregon, allow physician-assisted suicide, where a doctor provides a terminally ill patient with the means to end their life.
Euthanasia is illegal in most Latin American countries, except Colombia, which legalized it in 2015, and Ecuador, which decriminalized the practice in February.
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