Paola Roldan, the woman whose fight decriminalized euthanasia in Ecuador, has died

(CNN Spanish) — Paola Roldan, the woman who fought to decriminalize euthanasia in Ecuador, died this Monday at the age of 42 after suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which she was diagnosed with in 2020, her lawyer Farith Simon said. This was confirmed to CNN without providing further details. Description. The disease left Roldan with 95% disability, attached to a breathing machine and placed in palliative care.

Roldan constantly reports on his social networks about the complications that have arisen in his medical condition as a result of his illness.

With the help of his medical team, Roldán published a message on his Instagram account in which he thanked all those who supported him during the last months of his life for their bravery in starting the legal fight to legalize euthanasia in the country. Recognized them. Ecuador.

“My greatest desire is to leave my son a more supportive, kind, loving and cooperative world. I think this is the only way to save it and I will keep trying until my last breath,” Roldán says in the text published on Sunday.

On February 7, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador approved the conditional decriminalization of euthanasia in the country based on a claim of the unconstitutionality of Article 144 of the Comprehensive Penal Code – which prohibited anyone who helps a person who has expressed his or her wish to die. Established a simple murder process. To choose the option of euthanasia – which Roldán’s legal team presented in August 2023. The lawsuit was accepted in September.

This was Roldan’s fight to decriminalize euthanasia in Ecuador

In Ecuador, a deeply religious country, Paola Roldan started a wide-ranging debate between those who defend life despite the pain of incurable disease and those who believe that patients with a fatal diagnosis have a choice about whether or not to continue their lives. Can take decisions.

In early January, Paola Roldán, through her legal team, responded to some questions from CNN in writing. Roldan stressed his immediate desire to legalize euthanasia in the country.

“Given the progression of ALS and the possibility that my ability to communicate will be limited in the short term, my particular case is pressing. The day I cannot express my wishes or am not allowed to decide when to end my life, I will stop exercising my freedom, I will lose my dignity. You can’t have a dignified life without a dignified death,” Roldan stressed to CNN.

ALS is “a fatal type of motor neuron disease characterized by the progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain. It is one of the most devastating disorders affecting nerve and muscle function”, according to Johns. Hopkins Hospital is defined as one of the most prestigious in the world.

Euthanasia – according to the Royal Spanish Academy of Language – is “the deliberate intervention to end the life of a patient when there is no possibility of cure.” While for the National Cancer Institute of the United States it is “the intentional termination of the life of a person suffering from an incurable or painful illness at their request.”

On November 20, 2023, Paola Roldán appeared at a public hearing before the Constitutional Court via Zoom, from her bed and holding her husband’s hand, where she explained her case and her wish to die due to her illness. The judges of the court heard their arguments.

At the same hearing, various jurists, members of medical organizations, and members of civil society presented their arguments for and against Roldán’s lawsuit.

Ultimately, in February the Constitutional Court approved the acquittal. “I found this news very emotional and a relief. There were days when I thought I would never get any results from this case. “Today is a very special moment for me,” Roldan said in a Zoom press conference with his lawyers after hearing the news.

“This decision of the court is a stake on solidarity, autonomy and dignity. “I will spend these days with my family and our generous and talented lawyers understanding what this means,” he said.

“This huge task cannot be accomplished alone, I need many hands to support me, including my critics. The fight for human rights is not a paved road. “Today Ecuador is a freer, more respected and more humane country.”

At a press conference, his legal team described the sentencing as a “milestone”. Lawyer Pablo Encalada said that “Paola has become an outstanding and historic woman for the country.”