In the South American nation of Peru, a court ruling has set a deadline for the public health insurer to find a doctor who is willing to turn off the respirator that keeps Maria Teresa Benito Orihuela, 66, alive. The woman, who suffers from advanced amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and depends on an external respirator, obtained a court sentence to have a “dignified death” in February of this year. However, 12 doctors at the Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital where she is hospitalized have refused to turn off the devices, citing religious freedom laws and conscientious objection.
Orihuela’s lawyers sued the Peruvian court again in an attempt to force compliance with the first decision. The Superior Court of Justice of Lima ruled that EsSalud, Peru’s public health insurer, has until May 7 to present a doctor who agrees to turn off the devices. The case follows the same pattern as that of Ana Estrada, who died on April 21st after fighting a legal battle in Peru to end her own life. Estrada also suffered from a degenerative disease and was considered the first case of legal euthanasia in Peru.
The decisions in Estrada’s case were controversial and sparked concerns from various groups about euthanasia being legalized in Latin America. The Peruvian Episcopal Conference expressed their opposition by stating that euthanasia will always be wrong because it is an attack on the right to life. Other Latin American countries such as Ecuador have legalized euthanasia recently and Colombia has allowed it since 1997 but only regulated it in 2015. Hospitals in Colombia now perform assisted suicide on terminally ill patients.