How are we doing in the region?
In recent years, the right to a dignified death has gained visibility and strength in Latin America. This growing interest stems both from the courageous stories of those who have publicly demanded access to medically assisted dying and from the regulatory and jurisprudential advances achieved in several countries of the region.
Colombia is an exceptional case, both in the Latin American context and globally. In 1997, its Constitutional Court decriminalized euthanasia for people with terminal illnesses and recognized the fundamental right to die with dignity. Since then, the high court has issued several rulings that have broadened the scope of this right: in 2017, it extended it to children and adolescents; in 2021, it eliminated the terminal illness requirement; and in 2022, it recognized another dimension of this right: physician-assisted suicide.
Peru has also taken important steps. In 2021, a court issued the first ruling that did not apply the crime of mercy killing in the case of Ana Estrada, recognizing her a right to die with dignity through euthanasia. This decision was ratified in 2022 by the Supreme Court of Justice. While it marked a historic event, it was only applicable to that case. In April 2024, Ana accessed euthanasia, in compliance with her ruling. That same year, the Superior Court of Justice issued a second ruling on a dignified death in the case of María Benito, allowing her to withdraw her life-sustaining treatments, following palliative sedation.
In February 2024, Ecuador became the second country in Latin America to decriminalize euthanasia, following a ruling by its Constitutional Court in the Paola Roldán case. The ruling stipulated that the Ombudsman's Office submit a bill to Congress within six months for debate and potential approval. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health has issued provisional regulations governing the euthanasia procedure, which remain in effect until a law is enacted. In May 2025, the first euthanasia procedure was performed in Guayaquil.
On October 15, 2025, Uruguay approved a dignified death bill, becoming the third country in Latin America to decriminalize medically assisted death and the first in the region to have a euthanasia law from Congress.
No other country in the region has decriminalized medically assisted dying. However, significant progress is underway. In Chile, this progress has been slow. A bill to legalize euthanasia has been in the works since 2011. In 2021, the lower house voted in favour with 79 votes and 54 against, giving the bill preliminary approval. However, its progress has stalled in the Senate, despite President Gabriel Boric's commitment to treating it as a government priority. In countries like Argentina and Mexico , although members of parliament have introduced bills to decriminalize euthanasia, they have not been debated or approved in their respective lower houses.
On the other hand, the courts remain an open avenue for demanding recognition of the right to die with dignity. In El Salvador, for the first time, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling on the constitutionality of the crime of mercy killing and euthanasia; while in Argentina, there are pending cases in court.