ACI Prensa Staff, Feb 8, 2024 / 15:45 pm
In a Feb. 7 ruling, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador decriminalized euthanasia in response to the lawsuit filed by Paola Roldán, a woman who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable degenerative disease.
“The Constitutional Court has put itself above the Constitution to go against the vulnerable, in this case those sick with terminal chronic illness in Ecuador,” Martha Cecilia Villafuerte, founder and national director of Familia Ecuador, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Feb. 7. “They have taken advantage of a specific case, of a person with an irreversible disease, to request access to euthanasia.”
According to the pro-life leader, “this is a very hard blow against the human dignity and constitutional rights of Ecuadorians.”
“Seven of the nine judges have decided that it’s better to get rid of the burden of a sick person, to allow another person to take his life, instead of reinforcing or reaffirming the defense of his rights to comprehensive and proper health care, with all the medical care he deserves,” she said.