Psychologist, 47, with incurable muscle wasting disease becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after years-long lawsuit

A Peruvian psychologist has become the first person in Peru to legally die by euthanasia, after years of fighting in court.

Ana Estrada, 47, who suffered from incurable and chronic muscle degeneration since the age of 12 and was bedridden for several years, died Monday.

Estrada became the first person in Peru to win the right to die with medical assistance after becoming a sensation in the conservative country where euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal.

In 2022, the euthanasia activist won an exception from the country’s Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court ruling that gave Estrada the right to decide when to end her life, saying those who helped her would not be punished .

“Ana’s fight for her right to die with dignity has helped educate thousands of Peruvians about this right and the importance of defending it,” her lawyer, Josefina Miró Quesada, said in a statement.

“Her struggle transcends the borders of our nation.”

She died on Monday according to her lawyer, who also said that ‘her struggle transcends the borders of our nation’

Estrada spent most of her life bedridden after being diagnosed with polymyositis at age 12. It is a rare disease that affects her muscular system with degenerative deterioration

Estrada had an incurable and debilitating disease called polymyositis, which weakens and deteriorates the muscles in the body.

She began showing symptoms as a teenager and began using a wheelchair at age 20 after losing the strength to walk.

Before her illness completely took over her life, Estrada earned a degree in psychology and became a therapist.

She earned enough money to buy her own apartment, which allowed her to become independent from her parents.

But by 2017, Estrada’s condition had worsened and she could no longer get out of bed.

She began to rely on ventilators to breathe, which hampered her ability to speak as her voice was reduced to a whisper.

And even though she had difficulty typing, Estrada used transcription software to write a blog titled “Ana for a Dignified Death,” where she courageously shared her struggles and her decision to request euthanasia.

By 2022, Estrada had won her five-year historic battle with the Peruvian government and courts to allow her to undergo an assisted death “when the time comes.”

Estrada, who was confined to bed and breathing on a ventilator most of the time, said on Twitter in 2022 that her “fight has always been defending the right to choose.”

She had participated in court hearings via videoconferencing from her bed

Estrada used transcription software to produce a blog called “Ana for a Dignified Death,” in which she courageously shared her struggles and her decision to request euthanasia.

“It is an individual case, but I hope it can serve as a precedent,” Estrada said after the ministries of Justice and Health decided to respect a judge’s ruling that she is entitled to “a death with dignity.”

“I think this is not only an achievement of me, not only of my cause, but also an achievement of justice and justice in Peru,” Estrada said in a hushed and broken voice.

She had participated in court hearings via videoconferencing from her bed.

‘I’m available. My fight has always been defending the right to choose,” Estrada tweeted at the time.

“Today I achieved it thanks to the people who spread my voice.”

“I fought to get back my time and decisions about my life and my body.

‘Today I was given the right to choose when I want to die. Those who do not understand this, you will never understand nor want to understand,” she wrote.

“May my cause make us respect our differences. To defend all human rights that must be heard and respected. May we be a fairer and more egalitarian country.”

The court’s ruling demanded that state health insurer EsSalud provide “all conditions” necessary for Estrada’s euthanasia, which must take place within ten working days from the date she decides to end her life.

Before her death, Estrada viewed the government’s decision as a tool that will allow people to respect the decisions of others even if they choose not to accept the reasoning of the next individual.

Euthanasia is banned in most countries, and the Catholic Church opposes it.

Only a handful of countries have legalized euthanasia, including Canada, Belgium and Spain.

Some US states, including Maine and Oregon, allow physician-assisted suicide, in which a doctor gives a terminally ill patient the means to end his life.

Colombia is the only country in Latin America that allows assisted death under certain conditions.