Colombia and the rest of the countries where assisted suicide has been decriminalized | INTERACTIVE MAP

The Constitutional Court of Colombia made history this Thursday the 12th by legalizing medically assisted suicide (SMA).

The ruling of the highest Colombian court is based on the right to “die with dignity” stipulated in the 1997 Constitution and that allowed euthanasia to be decriminalized in that country that year.

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It is important to highlight that . While in the first it is the same patient who, in full conscience and after the authorization of a medical professional, administers the lethal drugs; in euthanasia who administers them is a third party.

The requirements to access both procedures are the same. An article in the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo explains that these are: .

SMA IN OTHER COUNTRIES

With the decision of this court, Colombia has become the first country in Latin America to decriminalize this procedure. However, other nations such as Switzerland, Luxembourg or the Netherlands had already made similar decisions.

According to the NGO Right to Die with Dignity, Switzerland is one of the countries where suicide cooperation It has been decriminalized for longer. Articles 114 and 115 of the Swiss Penal Code of 1942 regulate assisted suicide and there are four organizations that support people who request it.

It should be noted that in Switzerland the euthanasia it is not legal, just like in Germany. A ruling by the Swiss Constitutional Court issued in February 2020, however, confirmed that the practice of SMA.

In Austria, the Parliament approved on December 16, 2021 a law that regulates the SMA. The legislation, in force since January 1, 2022, indicates that this procedure applies to people over 18 years of age who suffer from serious illnesses certified by a doctor and who have the capacity to make decisions. In Austria, in addition, a waiting period of 12 weeks is included, unless the patient’s illness is very serious, in which case the period is shortened to two weeks.

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In Italy, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling in 2019 decriminalizing SMA when a patient suffers from some irreversible pathology that causes severe physical or mental suffering, or dependency on life support.

In Spain, where the SMA It is legal since June 2021, the applicant must be evaluated by two doctors and submit two applications, with 15 days of difference between one and the other.

In the United States, the different states have legislated in this regard since 1994. Oregon being the state where the SMA was first approved and New Mexico, in 2021, the most recent to give it the green light. It should also be noted that in the 11 states where the SMA is legal, euthanasia is not.

Source: Elcomercio

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