Bill on assisted dying advances in Uruguay's Congress

Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill early Wednesday morning that decriminalizes assisted dying under certain conditions, after a broad debate on the measure, which will now be discussed in a Senate committee.

After 14 hours of parliamentary debate, the text presented by the Broad Front (left in power), which had the support of several center-right opposition legislators, was approved with 64 votes in favor and 29 against, out of a total of 99 deputies.

Among the requirements that the doctor must consider when a patient requests intervention for assisted death are, among others, being of legal age, considered psychologically fit and going through the terminal phase of an incurable pathology that causes “unbearable suffering”.

Furthermore, the patient must go through several steps before formalizing his or her wishes in writing and in the presence of witnesses.

"It's a bill that guarantees, is safe, and protects the rights of people who want euthanasia and everyone involved in the procedure," said Luis Gallo, a representative from the Broad Front, in defending the bill.

If approved in the Senate, where the left holds a majority, Uruguay will follow Colombia's lead on the continent, which legalized euthanasia in 1997. However, a lack of regulation prevented the law from being implemented in the country for nearly two decades.

Palliative care is regulated in Uruguay, but the Uruguayan penal code punishes anyone who helps a person commit suicide with imprisonment.

According to a survey by the Cifra institute carried out in April and released in May, 62% of Uruguayans are in favor of euthanasia and only 24% are against the measure.

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