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Acid attack victim who considered 'assisted dying' may finally get the help she needs
Ten years ago, Pope Francis convinced acid attack victim Maria Consuelo Cordoba not to undergo euthanasia, and after years of struggle, she may now be able to get the health care she needs.
Cordoba was the victim of an acid attack at the hands of her then-partner, and became permanently disfigured.
She has undergone over 80 surgeries, and still struggles to survive; as she is unable to work, she spends her days begging on the streets of Colombia.
During a 2017 visit from Pope Francis, Cordoba told him she planned to undergo euthanasia, and he convinced her that her life was still worth living.
She now says she is considering euthanasia again, though public support allowing her to have reconstructive surgery may have caused her to reconsider.
58-year-old Maria Consuelo Cordoba was permanently disfigured after an acid attack in 2000. Cordoba had left her partner, Dagoberto Ensuncho Sánchez, to move from Cartagena to Bogotá in the hopes of better job opportunities. When she refused to move back in with Sánchez, he attacked her.
“It was my decision, I told him: 'I want to go to Bogotá to look for work',” she told the podcast V'amos Pa'eso y Derecho Pa' la Gente. “If I wasn’t for him, he told me he would kill me, that if I wasn’t for him, I wasn’t for anyone."
Their relationship had been abusive, and Cordoba sought to make a new life for herself.
"I told him I was very happy here and that I didn't like being there in Cartagena because he liked to drink a lot, and I don't like alcohol (...) he would come home drunk and try to hit me," she said. "He would punch me in the eye, make it swell up, and I didn't want that kind of cruel life either."
The night of her attack, he called and said he had arrived in Bogotá and asked her to pick him up. When she refused, he showed up at her house; the two had dinner together, and he left. But 15 minutes later, he returned. As soon as she opened the door, he attacked.
“When I opened the door he threw the acid at me," she said. "I didn't know it was acid because he had it in a can of liquor (...) I just thought he was drinking at that time of night and when I went out he threw that liquid in my face."
Cordoba had to undergo 87 surgeries and spent more than three years in the hospital.
Sánchez, meanwhile, was reportedly sentenced to just four years in prison, though Cordoba said he returned to Cartagena and didn't spend any time in jail.
Cordoba told NPR that her life had become miserable following the attack.
Even after her surgeries, she still can only breathe through tubes in her nostrils, and eat liquid food through a straw. She has to wear a mesh bodysuit at all times, as well as an elastic mask, to prevent infection and to cover her injured face. Unable to work, she survives by begging in Colombian markets. The vendors know her and her story, and often give her money to help when they can, partly due to the rise of acid attacks in Colombia.
As with Sánchez, offenders often face little to no jail time.
"What's happening with the acid attacks is terrible, terrible," Rita Velandia, one of the vendors who gives Cordoba money, said. "We are terrified of it. Being attacked with acid is incredibly terrible."
Cordoba is blind in one eye, lost one ear and her nose, and her mouth was destroyed, leaving just a small opening. "I come here to earn a living, to meet my obligations. People here know me and they know my situation," she said of the markets, and added, "I've thought about committing suicide, yes sir, I've thought about taking my life three times. I say to myself, why live? With a life like the one I have, what for?"
Just being in the sun is painful, so Cordoba wears heavy layers and carries an umbrella to protect herself.
"I'm dressed this way because I can't stand the sun, so I have to carry the umbrella and wear the mask so the solar rays do not penetrate the burns on my face. That hurts a lot," she told NPR, and all the while, people stare or ridicule her appearance. "It's hard but I don't pay attention to them. Sometimes it hurts but I have to go on with life."
By 2017, she had planned to undergo euthanasia after being diagnosed with a brain infection.
She had the date and her gravesite picked out, until she heard of a visit from Pope Francis to Colombia. She decided to meet him, in the hopes that he would approve of her plan to die. Instead, he convinced her that life was still worth living.
“He said no, he was not going to do it. He told me that I was very brave and very pretty,” she recalled. “That changed my life. Now I want to live," she said at the time. “Dr. Gustavo Quinonez was going to give me the injection, but I’m not going to do it because God is going to bring greatness to my life. So that I do not die, they will donate for the surgery that I need, which will cost several million pesos. I am going to tell Dr. Gustavo, ‘thank you very much for your injection, but it is for another’.”
Almost 10 years later, it appears Cordoba is again struggling, so much so that she has begun considering euthanasia once more, saying that Pope Francis promised her help that never came.
“I don’t want to live like this anymore,” she said. “He told me, ‘Colombia will help you get the surgeries you need.' But you know what? No one has helped me. I’m worse.”
Capital Salud, a Colombian health care entity, confirmed she had been approved for euthanasia.
“The decision to use the authorization she has is part of her will and the exercise of her right to die with dignity," the organization said in a press release. "Capital Salud will respect and support the decision that the user freely and autonomously decides to make. Maria Consuelo will continue to be supported with respect, humanity and dignity. We will be available to attend to all her health needs.”
However, upon hearing this, the Vamos Pa Eso podcast intervened, launching a campaign to fundraise for her and arrange for the nose and mouth reconstructive surgeries she needs.
"I am very happy, very happy with those angels, that we live for that, they have achieved [for] me," she said. "I am very happy, I am not even in misery because I am not going to be in any euthanasia."
Lawyer Juan José Castro added:
"Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your generosity, for your love, for your empathy, for your understanding. And I believe that we are going to achieve something that had not been done in 26 years, and it is to give a dignified life to Consuelito so that she lives it and makes the decisions that she wants in a dignified way."
Cordoba will now begin undergoing medical evaluations to determine when she surgeries can take place.
It is an incredible turn of events that Cordoba is able to get the health care she needs to allow her to live.
However, it is disturbing to see that Capital Salud would easily arrange for Cordoba to be killed, yet it took a crowdfunding campaign to ensure she undergoes needed surgical reconstruction.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·Acid attack victim who considered 'assisted dying' may finally get the help she needs
Ten years ago, Pope Francis convinced acid attack victim Maria Consuelo Cordoba not to undergo euthanasia, and after years of struggle, she may now be able to get the health care she needs.
Cordoba was the victim of an acid attack at the hands of her then-partner, and became permanently disfigured.
She has undergone over 80 surgeries, and still struggles to survive; as she is unable to work, she spends her days begging on the streets of Colombia.
During a 2017 visit from Pope Francis, Cordoba told him she planned to undergo euthanasia, and he convinced her that her life was still worth living.
She now says she is considering euthanasia again, though public support allowing her to have reconstructive surgery may have caused her to reconsider.
58-year-old Maria Consuelo Cordoba was permanently disfigured after an acid attack in 2000. Cordoba had left her partner, Dagoberto Ensuncho Sánchez, to move from Cartagena to Bogotá in the hopes of better job opportunities. When she refused to move back in with Sánchez, he attacked her.
“It was my decision, I told him: 'I want to go to Bogotá to look for work',” she told the podcast V'amos Pa'eso y Derecho Pa' la Gente. “If I wasn’t for him, he told me he would kill me, that if I wasn’t for him, I wasn’t for anyone."
Their relationship had been abusive, and Cordoba sought to make a new life for herself.
"I told him I was very happy here and that I didn't like being there in Cartagena because he liked to drink a lot, and I don't like alcohol (...) he would come home drunk and try to hit me," she said. "He would punch me in the eye, make it swell up, and I didn't want that kind of cruel life either."
The night of her attack, he called and said he had arrived in Bogotá and asked her to pick him up. When she refused, he showed up at her house; the two had dinner together, and he left. But 15 minutes later, he returned. As soon as she opened the door, he attacked.
“When I opened the door he threw the acid at me," she said. "I didn't know it was acid because he had it in a can of liquor (...) I just thought he was drinking at that time of night and when I went out he threw that liquid in my face."
Cordoba had to undergo 87 surgeries and spent more than three years in the hospital.
Sánchez, meanwhile, was reportedly sentenced to just four years in prison, though Cordoba said he returned to Cartagena and didn't spend any time in jail.
Cordoba told NPR that her life had become miserable following the attack.
Even after her surgeries, she still can only breathe through tubes in her nostrils, and eat liquid food through a straw. She has to wear a mesh bodysuit at all times, as well as an elastic mask, to prevent infection and to cover her injured face. Unable to work, she survives by begging in Colombian markets. The vendors know her and her story, and often give her money to help when they can, partly due to the rise of acid attacks in Colombia.
As with Sánchez, offenders often face little to no jail time.
"What's happening with the acid attacks is terrible, terrible," Rita Velandia, one of the vendors who gives Cordoba money, said. "We are terrified of it. Being attacked with acid is incredibly terrible."
Cordoba is blind in one eye, lost one ear and her nose, and her mouth was destroyed, leaving just a small opening. "I come here to earn a living, to meet my obligations. People here know me and they know my situation," she said of the markets, and added, "I've thought about committing suicide, yes sir, I've thought about taking my life three times. I say to myself, why live? With a life like the one I have, what for?"
Just being in the sun is painful, so Cordoba wears heavy layers and carries an umbrella to protect herself.
"I'm dressed this way because I can't stand the sun, so I have to carry the umbrella and wear the mask so the solar rays do not penetrate the burns on my face. That hurts a lot," she told NPR, and all the while, people stare or ridicule her appearance. "It's hard but I don't pay attention to them. Sometimes it hurts but I have to go on with life."
By 2017, she had planned to undergo euthanasia after being diagnosed with a brain infection.
She had the date and her gravesite picked out, until she heard of a visit from Pope Francis to Colombia. She decided to meet him, in the hopes that he would approve of her plan to die. Instead, he convinced her that life was still worth living.
“He said no, he was not going to do it. He told me that I was very brave and very pretty,” she recalled. “That changed my life. Now I want to live," she said at the time. “Dr. Gustavo Quinonez was going to give me the injection, but I’m not going to do it because God is going to bring greatness to my life. So that I do not die, they will donate for the surgery that I need, which will cost several million pesos. I am going to tell Dr. Gustavo, ‘thank you very much for your injection, but it is for another’.”
Almost 10 years later, it appears Cordoba is again struggling, so much so that she has begun considering euthanasia once more, saying that Pope Francis promised her help that never came.
“I don’t want to live like this anymore,” she said. “He told me, ‘Colombia will help you get the surgeries you need.' But you know what? No one has helped me. I’m worse.”
Capital Salud, a Colombian health care entity, confirmed she had been approved for euthanasia.
“The decision to use the authorization she has is part of her will and the exercise of her right to die with dignity," the organization said in a press release. "Capital Salud will respect and support the decision that the user freely and autonomously decides to make. Maria Consuelo will continue to be supported with respect, humanity and dignity. We will be available to attend to all her health needs.”
However, upon hearing this, the Vamos Pa Eso podcast intervened, launching a campaign to fundraise for her and arrange for the nose and mouth reconstructive surgeries she needs.
"I am very happy, very happy with those angels, that we live for that, they have achieved [for] me," she said. "I am very happy, I am not even in misery because I am not going to be in any euthanasia."
Lawyer Juan José Castro added:
"Thank you, thank you, thank you all for your generosity, for your love, for your empathy, for your understanding. And I believe that we are going to achieve something that had not been done in 26 years, and it is to give a dignified life to Consuelito so that she lives it and makes the decisions that she wants in a dignified way."
Cordoba will now begin undergoing medical evaluations to determine when she surgeries can take place.
It is an incredible turn of events that Cordoba is able to get the health care she needs to allow her to live.
However, it is disturbing to see that Capital Salud would easily arrange for Cordoba to be killed, yet it took a crowdfunding campaign to ensure she undergoes needed surgical reconstruction.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Carole Novielli
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Nancy Flanders
·Activism
Angeline Tan
·Analysis
Nancy Flanders
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·