SPANISH WOMAN ASKS FOR EUTHANASIA
A 51-year-old woman with advanced muscular dystrophy is trying to get the Spanish government to legalise euthanasia. Inmaculada Echevarria has been in a hospital bed for 20 years and says that she wants to die. Euthanasia supporters are hoping that her case will spark a debate in parliament. The present government appears to be broadly in favour of euthanasia, but legalising it would provoke huge opposition. The health minister, Elena Salgado, says that Ms Echevarria’s case is a matter for the courts.
In an October press conference, Ms Echevarria said that “the loneliness is worse than the physical pain. People treat me well, with kind words, but in the end no one helps me.” Her partner died in a car accident and she gave her son up for adoption. She has a brother in the northern city of Logrono, but he has not contacted her for years.
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
A painful debate: shrinking the carbon footprint of anaesthetics
If there is any profession which seems remote from the Sturm und Drang of climate change, it must be anaesthetists....
Some patients recall death experiences after heart attacks
In an article in the journal Resuscitation, some survivors of cardiac arrest have described lucid death experiences that occurred while...
Queensland widower dies after taking assisted suicide drugs ordered by his wife
“Move along, please. Nothing to see here.” This was more or less the reaction of supporters of “voluntary assisted dying”...
Australian first: nurse donates organs after euthanasia
A Victorian woman has become the first Australian to combine death by euthanasia with organ donation. Ballarat nurse Marlene Bevern,...
Canadian study hints at crushing institutional conscience objections to ‘assisted dying’
Supporters of “voluntary assisted dying” fought hard to achieve legalisation in various jurisdictions around the world. After legalisation, however, battles...
Hope, hype and xenotransplantation
On January 7, 2022 David Bennett, a 57-year-old with terminal heart disease, made history as the first person to receive...