Spanish
The Chilean Congress began this Tuesday the process of the euthanasia bill, after the Senate Health Commission, where it had been stalled since December 2024, gave the green light for the Upper House to begin debating the proposal.
"We are very pleased that the idea of legislating has been approved, because we Chileans are prepared to deliver a responsible and serious debate regarding the issue of euthanasia," said the Minister of Health, Ximena Aguilera, who added that she hopes the project will be approved in the final stretch of this Government, in March of next year.
The current project, based on the fusion of four parliamentary initiatives presented between 2011 and 2018, establishes that anyone who wants to request assisted death must be over 18 years old, be "conscious and lucid", have a "serious and incurable" illness or be in a "terminal" state – which will have to be defined by the Ministry of Health under specific criteria – and that this causes suffering in a "persistent, intolerable and without possible relief" way.
The patient's diagnosis must be confirmed by two specialist doctors and, in addition, must be supplemented by a psychiatrist who certifies that the person is mentally fit to make this decision.
A technical commission will be in charge of evaluating each case, conscientious objection will be regulated, and a norm will be established to safeguard the right to repentance at any time.
The project had been stalled in the Health Commission since December 2024, but during the public account to Congress last year, the Chilean president, Gabriel Boric, publicly announced his willingness to expedite the processing.
However, according to the local press, the "urgency" of the project has been removed and renewed more than 30 times by the Government, without substantive progress.
The parliamentary discussion is expected to be complex because the ruling party does not have a majority in Congress, the right rejects the proposal – voted against it in the Health Commission – and the weight could fall on the support of the Christian Democrats.
In the South American country, there have been cases of high public connotation related to "dignified death" such as that of the teenager Valentina Maureira, who in 2014 asked former President Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010 and 2014-2018) to authorize euthanasia to end the suffering caused by the cystic fibrosis she suffered from.
Also that of Doctor Manuel Almeyda Medina, a former academic affected by several illnesses who sent a letter to the Medical College asking for legislation on the subject.
In Latin America, only two countries – Colombia and Ecuador – have legislated regarding assisted death, always with complex discussions due to the principles at stake.
According to several surveys, in Chile there is a consensus of more than half of the population for a law to regulate euthanasia.
