In late 2018, Martha Sepulveda was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the progressive neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. On Sunday, the 51-year-old Colombian mother and devout Catholic will die by legally permitted euthanasia—the first in her nation to be allowed to do so despite not having a terminal illness, reports the Washington Post. The South American nation is the only one in Latin America, and one of the only ones on Earth, to permit euthanasia, under a law that's been on the books there for nearly 25 years. Until this summer, however, Colombia restricted that legal option only to individuals who were thought to have just six months or less to live.
7News notes that, while Lou Gehrig's disease significantly slashes life expectancy, it's not considered terminal. That all changed for Sepulveda, and for the rest of Colombia, in July, when a constitutional court tweaked its allowance for euthanasia to include anyone with "intense physical or mental suffering from bodily injury or serious and incurable disease." There are few other countries that offer the same leeway, including Belgium and the Netherlands. In the US, no state offers the option for euthanasia (in which a doctor would bring about the patient's death), though 10 states and DC do allow for medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients of sound mind.
One of the sticking points for euthanasia critics in Colombia is the "mental suffering" that's included under the new law, as they fear this could make it easier for depressed people to end their lives without seeking remedies for their depression. "We are promoting a culture of death," one Colombian senator says, per the Post. The country's strong Catholic leaning has also caused some friction, with church officials there frowning on euthanasia as a "serious offense." But Sepulveda—who has long sought relief as she increasingly lost control of her muscles, and who now can't walk unassisted—sees it differently.
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"I know that God is the owner of life," she tells Colombia's Caracol News. "But God doesn't want to see me suffer." RCN Radio reports she quit her job at a construction company last week, and she's been spending her days since watching Netflix with her 22-year-old son, Federico Redondo Sepulveda, who has been helping her in her push to end her own life. Sepulveda plans on going to bed early on Saturday. Her life is set to end at 7am the next day; afterward, her remains will be cremated. "She kept saying the same thing, that if I loved her, then I would support her," her son tells the Post, adding he'll take the Eucharist with her remains beside him before her ashes are scattered in the Caribbean. (More euthanasia stories.)
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