Assisted dying advocate and psychologist Ana Estrada died on Sunday, April 21st after the Supreme Court exempted her doctor from punishment for administering lethal drugs. Ms. Estrada suffered from polymyositis, which causes muscle weakness, as a result of which she was bed-ridden and required a ventilator to breathe. She has sought access to assisted dying since 2016. Upon receiving the court approval she said, “There will come a time when I will no longer be able to write, or express myself,” Estrada said at the time. “My body fails, but my mind and spirit are happy. I want the last moments of my life to be just like this.”,
Her lawyer, Miro Quesada said, “Ana has left us grateful to all the people who helped give her a voice, who were with her through this fight and who supported her decision unconditionally, with love.”
While euthanasia is legal under certain conditions in Colombia, Ecuador and Cuba, it is still illegal in Peru. Ms. Estrada died hoping that her case would set a legal precedent for access to assisted dying.
Peru