INTERNACIONAL
Peruvian psychologist Ana Estrada, who fought in courts for ‘death with dignity,’ has died by euthanasia
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Ana Estrada fought for years in Peruvian courts for the right to die with dignity, and became a celebrity in the conservative country where euthanasia and assisted suicide are illegal.
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In 2022 Estrada was granted an exception by the nation’s Supreme Court, which upheld a ruling by a lower court that gave Estrada the right to decide when to end her life, and said that those who helped her would not be punished. Estrada became the first person to obtain the right to die with medical assistance in Peru.
«Ana’s struggle for her right to die with dignity has helped to educate thousands of Peruvians about this right and the importance of defending it,» her lawyer, Josefina Miró Quesada, said in a statement. «Her struggle transcended our nation’s borders.»
Ana Estrada, a Peruvian psychologist who is almost completely paralyzed by a terminal illness, gives an interview at her home in Lima, Peru, Dec. 18, 2019. Estrada, who was authorized in 2022 by Peru’s Supreme Court to receive euthanasia, has died, her lawyer said Monday, April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Estrada, 47, suffered from polymyositis, a disease that wastes away muscles and has no cure.
She began to present the first symptoms as a teenager and started to use a wheelchair at the age of 20 because she had lost the strength to walk.
Despite these obstacles Estrada obtained a psychology degree and became a therapist. She earned enough money to buy her own apartment and became independent from her parents.
By 2017 however, Estrada’s condition worsened and she could no longer get up from her bed.
She had difficulty breathing and survived pneumonia. And even though she could not type, Estrada used transcription software to produce a blog called «Ana for a death with dignity,» where she discussed her struggles and her decision to seek euthanasia.
«I am no longer free,» she said in an interview with the Associated Press in 2018. «I am not the same person I was before.»
With the help of Peru’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Estrada won a lawsuit that gave her the right to die with euthanasia. From her bed, she participated in court sessions through video conferences.
Estrada told judges in 2022 that she valued life, and did not want to die immediately, but wanted to have the freedom to decide when to end her life.
«I want to accede to euthanasia when I can no longer sustain suffering in life,» she said. «And when I decide to bid farewell to my loved ones in peace and with tranquility.»
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Only a handful of countries have legalized euthanasia, including Canada, Belgium and Spain. Some U.S. states including Maine and Oregon allow physician-assisted suicide, where a doctor provides a terminally ill patient with the means to end life.
Euthanasia is illegal in most Latin American countries, except for Colombia, which legalized it in 2015 and Ecuador, which decriminalized the practice in February.
INTERNACIONAL
Israel delays Palestinian prisoner release after Hamas’ ‘humiliating’ treatment of hostages, Netanyahu says
Israel will delay the seventh hostage-prisoner exchange in protest of Hamas’ «humiliating» treatment of hostages, according to Israeli officials.
The release of 620 Palestinian prisoners, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Sunday morning, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement condemning Hamas propaganda generated during the exchange.
«In light of Hamas’s repeated violations, including the ceremonies that humiliate our hostages and the cynical exploitation of our hostages for propaganda purposes, it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies,» the office’s statement said.
The statement came after reports of Hamas fighters exploiting Israeli prisoners while they were being released. On Saturday, five of the six freed hostages were accompanied by armed militants in front of a crowd, including three Israeli hostages who posed alongside terrorists.
HAMAS FREES THREE MORE HOSTAGES IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE THAN 300 PRISONERS AS PART OF CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH ISRAEL
Palestinians gather as Hamas fighters escort Red Cross vehicles ahead of the handover of Israeli hostages in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov and Eliya Cohen were among the hostages forced to pose with the terrorists. Shem Tov was also forced to appear cheerful, kiss two militants on the head and blew kisses to the crowd.
The three also wore fake army uniforms, though they were not enlisted when they were captured by Hamas.
In another recent ceremony orchestrated by Hamas, four coffins were placed in front of a caricature of Netanyahu with a banner that said, «The war criminal Netanyahu & his Nazi army killed them with missiles from Zionist warplanes.»
REMAINS OF SHIRI BIBAS, MOM OF TWO KILLED, ALLEGEDLY RETURNED TO ISRAEL FOLLOWING HAMAS’ BROKEN PROMISE
Palestinian Hamas militants gather at the site of the handing over of the bodies of four Israeli hostages in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Thursday. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Israeli United Nations Ambassador Danny Danon called the gesture «evil and depraved.»
«For 16 months, Israel has been fighting a deranged terrorist organization that places no value on human life, especially if it is Israeli or Jewish — all while international institutions like the U.N. refrained from condemning Hamas and formally demanding the immediate return of our hostages,» Danon said.
The United Nations also condemned the coffin incident.
Israelis stand under placards with photos of hostages during a Feb. 10 rally marking the 24th birthday of Alon Ohel, who is held hostage by Hamas at hostages square. (Eyal Warshavsky/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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«Under international law, any handover of the remains of [the] deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,» the United Nations Geneva said on X, attributing the quote to High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
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