The patient lives in Ibagué, department of Tolima, in the center-west of Colombia. She has been bedridden for 10 years. She can no longer walk or talk and she only communicates with her relatives by blinking her eyes, reports the local media outlet Blu Radio.
Her family says that the young woman says she is tired of so much pain from the disease, a condition that makes her permanently dependent on other people, so she asks for euthanasia.
“Erika is very tired, it is normal and natural. She tells me that she is tired of lying permanently in that bed,” her husband, Álvaro Bonilla, told the same outlet, who still hopes that his partner can improve, according to the prognosis of the treating physician.
“Dr. Francisco Rodríguez told me that Erika is recovering and I believe him, but we need all the attention that is required. With the change in EPS, she is not receiving any kind of help, neither medication nor therapy,” he said.
What happened to the EPS treatment?
Érika’s family claims that the Health Promotion Entity (EPS), which should guarantee access to health services that the Colombian State supposedly seeks, does not provide her with the care she needs, despite the fact that they have requested on different occasions that the young person is treated properly so that he can sustain a dignified life.
The lack of treatment and changes in the EPS have caused Erika’s disease to progress and increase her physical and mental deterioration.
The Secretary of Health of Tolima, Martha Palacios, told Blu Radio that in this case there is a requirement for EPS care and that the patient was the victim of “an arbitrary change” of the service. Regarding the request for euthanasia, the official argued that at the moment there is no formal request.
“What we are doing is traceability so that the new EPS guarantees the provision and timely care for this user,” Palacios said.
Colombia has had a euthanasia law since 1993, but for years it only allowed it for the terminally ill. In mid-2021, the Constitutional Court extended this right to patients with pathologies that cause “intense physical and psychological suffering.”
The procedure requires compliance with certain rules, including that it be carried out by a medical professional and that it be authorized by the so-called Scientific-Interdisciplinary Committee to Die With Dignity. Once approved, it must be executed by the public health system and free of charge.
