Euthanasia in Uruguay

Last updated

Assisted suicide, while criminal does not appear to have caused any convictions. Although a person who has assisted with the suicide must appear in court, article 37 of the Penal Code (effective 1934) states: "The judges are authorized to forego [sic] punishment of a person whose previous life has been honorable where he commits a homicide motivated by compassion, induced by repeated requests of the victim." [1] Whilst not de jure permitting the act, it has been interpreted to mean that judges may pardon the defendant of their crime, and so de facto authorising assisted suicide.

Contents

This is further reinforced in another article, 127, which states that the judge could waive the doctor, if this action was made by patient pledge and the doctor had an honorable reputation. [2] [3] This de facto permissive stance has led the respected Hungarian medical journal Orvosi Hetilap to consider Uruguay as having legalised a form of active euthanasia. [4]

The Penal Code of Uruguay of Uruguay is seemingly the first legal document that include euthanasia. The main source of this Penal Code was Jimenéz de Asúa, a Spanish penalist, that introduce this concept in his book "Libertad de amar y derecho a morir: ensayos de un criminalista sobre eugenesia, eutanasia, endocrinología", published in Madrid/Spain, in 1928. [5] The first proposal to understand Euthanasia as homicide was made by Ruy Santos in his MD thesis, "Da resistencia dos estados mórbidos à therapeutica e da incurabilidade perante a euthanásia", at Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia/Brazil, in 1928. He made a difference between Euthanasia as homicide and Euthanasia as suicide, probably the first citation about Assisted Suicide. [6]

Minors

If parents attempt to refuse treatment to a minor, against the advice of the attending physician, then they would be in abuse of their parental authority, as they would be deemed to not always be acting in their child's best interests. [7]

Article 37

Article 37 was for years at odds with the country's otherwise conservative opposition to abortion, which until 2012 was illegal except in cases of protecting the mother’s life, rape or extreme poverty. [8]

Related Research Articles

Euthanasia is the practise of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder</span> Unlawful killing of a human with malice aforethought

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of malice, brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assisted suicide</span> Suicide undertaken with aid from another person

Assisted suicide – alternately referred to as medical aid in dying – means a procedure in which people take medications to end their own lives with the help of others, usually medical professionals. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is an end of life measure for a person suffering a painful, terminal illness. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifies under the physician-assisted suicide laws for that location, the physician's assistance is usually limited to writing a prescription for a lethal dose of drugs.

The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without the will to continue living, should be allowed to end their own life, use assisted suicide, or to decline life-prolonging treatment. The question of who, if anyone, may be empowered to make this decision is often the subject of debate.

Voluntary euthanasia is the ending of a person's life at their request in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in recent years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide legislation</span> Laws concerning suicide around the world

Suicide is a crime in some parts of the world. However, while suicide has been decriminalized in many countries, the act is almost universally stigmatized and discouraged. In some contexts, suicide could be utilized as an extreme expression of liberty, as is exemplified by its usage as an expression of devout dissent towards perceived tyranny or injustice which occurred occasionally in cultures such as ancient Rome, medieval Japan, or today's Tibet Autonomous Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion in Argentina</span>

Abortion in Argentina is legal as an elective medical procedure during the first 14 weeks from conception. The abortion law was liberalized after the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill (Argentina) was passed by the National Congress in December 2020. According to the law, any woman can request the procedure at any public or private health facility. Doctors are legally bound to either perform it or, if they are conscientious objectors, refer the patient to another physician or health facility. Only three other Latin or South American countries legalised abortion on request nationwide before Argentina did: Cuba in 1965, Guyana in 1995 and Uruguay in 2012. According to polling in 2021, around 44% of Argentines support the legalization of abortion on request; other polls showed 50–60% of Argentines opposed the bill.

The World Federation of Right to Die Societies is an international federation of associations that promote access to voluntary euthanasia. It holds regular international meetings on dying and death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legality of euthanasia</span>

The legality of euthanasia varies depending on the country. Efforts to change government policies on euthanasia of humans in the 20th and 21st centuries have met limited success in Western countries. Human euthanasia policies have also been developed by a variety of NGOs, most notably medical associations and advocacy organizations. As of 2023, euthanasia is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain and all six states of Australia. Euthanasia was briefly legal in the Northern Territory between 1996 and 1997, but was overturned by a federal law. In 2021, a Peruvian court allowed euthanasia for a single person, Ana Estrada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in the Dominican Republic</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Dominican Republic do not enjoy the same rights as non-LGBT residents, and face legal and social challenges that are not experienced by other people. While the Dominican Criminal Code does not expressly prohibit same-sex sexual relations or cross-dressing, it also does not address discrimination or harassment on the account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor does it recognize same-sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are also not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples, as same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned in the country.

Ope Pasquet Iribarne is a Uruguayan lawyer and politician of the Colorado Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euthanasia in Mexico</span> Legal history of euthanasia in Mexico

Legislation on euthanasia in Mexico distinguishes between passive and active euthanasia. Since 7 January 2008, the law allows the terminally ill —or closest relatives, if unconscious— to refuse medication or further medical treatment that may extend life in Mexico City, in the state of Aguascalientes and, since 1 September 2009, in the state of Michoacán.

The Portuguese Penal Code was adopted in 1982 by Decree-Law no. 400/82, of September 23, entering into force on January 1st of 1983, it has seen multiple amendments, but has been subject of two major reforms in 1995, by Decree-Law no. 48/95, of March 15, and in 2007, by Law no. 59/2007. The Penal Code devotes a chapter on “crimes against human life”, where murder is included; despite that other crimes, in their aggravated form, may be considered, in other countries, to be included in murder. Murder may also be found in special legislation, namely in the Code of Military Justice, adopted in 2003 by Law no. 100/2003, of November 15, and in the Penal and Disciplinary Code of the Merchant Navy, adopted in 1940 by Decree-Law no. 33252/43, of November 20. The Portuguese Constitution expressly forbids the death penalty and life imprisonment. Additionally, since 1997, the Constitution does not allow the extradition of anyone who would be subject to any of those two forms of punishment at the requesting country. Unless binding assurances are given that the suspect will not be sentenced to either death penalty or life imprisonment, the extradition must be rejected.

Dignified death, death with dignity, dying with dignity or dignity in dying is an ethical concept that refers to the end-of-life process avoiding suffering and maintaining control and autonomy. In general, it is usually treated as an extension of the concept of dignified life, in which people retain their dignity and freedom until the end of their existence.

Abortion in Costa Rica is severely restricted by criminal law. Currently, abortions are allowed in Costa Rica only in order to preserve the life or physical health of the woman. Abortions are illegal in almost all cases, including when the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest and when the foetus suffers from medical problems or birth defects. Both social and economic factors have led to this legal status. It remains unclear whether abortions are legal to preserve the mental health of the woman, though the 2013 United Nations abortion report says Costa Rica does allow abortions concerning the mental health of a woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marta Lamas</span>

Marta Lamas Encabo is a Mexican anthropologist and political science professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and lecturer at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). She is one of Mexico's leading feminists and has written many books aimed at reducing discrimination by opening public discourse on feminism, gender, prostitution and abortion. Since 1990, Lamas has edited one of Latin America's most important feminist journals, Debate Feminista. In 2005, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill (Argentina)</span>

The Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Law was approved by the National Congress of Argentina in 2020, legalizing abortion in Argentina. The first draft of the bill was created in 2006 by the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe, and Free Abortion, which sought to have Congress consider it in seven different occasions, to no avail.

Euthanasia in Spain has been legal since June 25, 2021, when the Organic Law for the Regulation of Euthanasia came into force, three months after its publication in the Boletín Oficial del Estado, after being approved by the Cortes Generales on 18 March 2021. Said law decriminalizes medical aid to die and specifies who, when and with what requirements it may be provided. With its approval, Spain became the sixth state in the world to recognize nationwide the right to euthanasia.

Sara Rey Álvarez (1894–1949) was a Uruguayan writer, feminist and political activist.

References

  1. Humphry, Derek. "Tread Carefully When You Help to Die, Assisted Suicide Laws Around the World". Assisted Suicide. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  2. Reta A, Grezzi O. Código penal de la República Oriental del Uruguay. 4th ed. Montevideo: Fundación de Cultura Universitaria; 1996.
  3. MacGuire, Daniel C. "Death, Legal and Illegal". The Atlantic Online. Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. Hetil, Orv (2014). "Euthanasia outside Europe". Orv Hetil. 155 (32): 1259–64. doi:10.1556/OH.2014.29978. PMID   25087217.
  5. Asúa LJ de. Libertad de amar y derecho a morir: ensayos de un criminalista sobre eugenesia, eutanasia, endocrinología. Madrid: Historia Nueva; 1928.
  6. Santos R. Da euthanásia nos incuráveis dolorosos. These de doutoramento. Salvador (Bahia): Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia; 1928.
  7. Méndez, Pedro J. Montano y Gómez de Alía, Juan José Puerto González, Mauricio Iglesias (2011). Medical law in Uruguay. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International. p. 133. ISBN   978-90-411-3785-2 . Retrieved 15 August 2015.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Uruguay legalises abortion". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 22 July 2015.