Ana Estrada: The first woman who fought for that right in Peru receives euthanasia

Ana Estrada Ugarte, the first Peruvian to conquer her right to a dignified death, now rests in peace. This Sunday, following a complex battle in the courts and the public eye, she agreed to euthanasia at the age of 47. At twelve, Ella Estrada was diagnosed with poliomyositis, an autoimmune, chronic and degenerative disease that took away her mobility until she was bedridden. However, this did not stop him from continuing with her life: she studied psychology, wrote poetry and part of her memoirs on a blog, inspired a photobook, but above all she became the face of a just cause.

“Ana left grateful for all the people who echoed her voice, who accompanied her in her fight and who, unconditionally, supported her decision with love and empathy (…) Ana’s case allowed the Peruvian justice system to recognize for the first time in its history that we all have the right to die with dignity,” says the statement released by his lawyer Josefina Miró Quesada.

In February 2021, the Peruvian State issued the historic ruling in favor of Estrada that was ratified by the Supreme Court in July 2022. But it was only in January 2024 that the Social Health Security completed the assisted death protocol, which It included that the patient might choose the professional she trusted to perform euthanasia. “I have never felt so in control of my life and my body as I do today,” she said in those days.

In a text published on the Salud con Lupa portal titled Life begins here: my right to decide, Ana Estrada narrated the crude comments she received on social networks for not carrying out euthanasia immediately following having achieved it and emphasized the meaning of her battle. “The legalization of euthanasia (in my case) is not synonymous with ending my life, but rather with having the security (and calm in advance) that I will not suffer to such a point that I cannot even decide for myself. . Because it turns out that my illness is not terminal, it is not a condition with an expiration date, but that I might live like this for years, confined in my own body and gagged by an increasingly intolerable, more savage pain. More inhuman (…) I do not fight to die. “I fight to preserve what is most essential in any human being,” she wrote.

In 2016, Ana Estrada suffered a critical episode of her illness that led her to the intensive care room of a hospital and to be connected to a respirator. It was at that painful moment that she began to fight for her rights in a country like Peru where euthanasia has not yet been legalized. Her departure has awakened the solidarity and empathy of a majority of citizens. The writer Victoria Guerrero Peirano, 2020 National Literature Award in the non-fiction category, said: “she was a brave and worthy woman. “Having a dignified death is a revolution in Peru where death is generally a cold statistic or a murder without justice.”

Gianna Camacho, journalist and human rights activist for the LGBTIQ+ community, also expressed her feelings. “With tears, but at the same time with a smile, since Ana Estrada achieved something, for which she fought so hard. We supported each other here in the face of a society that does not understand that not everything is black and white. You did so much in life, that now, from another plane, you will continue with us. Rest Ana.”

In 2019, the Ombudsman’s Office took on Ana Estrada’s case and fought the battle in court. The lawyer Josefina Miró Quesada, who accompanied her from then until her last breath, has left some tender words regarding the complicity between the two. “Ana is free. She was in control of her life until the last day. She died with dignity, on her own terms. And I had the privilege of accompanying her on her journey. A beautiful path, surrounded by love. You have already transcended forever. You will be in the hearts and minds of many. You are free to fly the fields, the mountains and the sea.” The discussion regarding access to a dignified death continues to advance in Latin America.

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