Woman with muscular dystrophy becomes ‘public face’ of euthanasia in Chile

A 41-year-old woman in Chile is working to legalize euthanasia in the nation so that she can one day end her life through physician-assisted death.

Susana Moreira has lived her life with muscular dystrophy, which causes the body to slowly degenerate, losing the ability to walk, care for oneself, swallow, and eventually to breathe. She has dealt with muscle weakness her entire life and currently spends most of her time in bed. At this point in her life, she feels that when that time comes and she can no longer breathe on her own or speak, she will want to die. Based on this current feeling, she is hoping to inspire Chilean leaders to legalize euthanasia so doctors can kill her.

According to AP News, Moreira is now “the public face” of Chile’s euthanasia debate.

“This disease will progress, and I will reach a point where I won’t be able to communicate,” she told The Associated Press. “When the time comes, I need the euthanasia bill to be law.”

She added, “I don’t want to live plugged into machines, I don’t want a tracheostomy, I don’t want a feeding tube, I don’t want a ventilator to breathe. I want to live as long as my body allows me.”

However, when she does reach that point of being unable to communicate, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to know if she has had a change of heart and no longer wishes to die. A study out of Ireland found that 72% of those age 50 and up who “wish to die” change their minds within two years.

In addition, Moreira said she ‘wants to live as long as her body allows,’ but assisted suicide and euthanasia do the opposite. Dying from natural causes is one thing; paying to have a doctor kill you is another.

In 2021, Chile’s Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that would allow euthanasia and assisted suicide for people over the age of 18 who have a “serious and incurable” illness. That bill has not passed the Senate.

If it does eventually pass, Chile would become the third country in Latin America to legalize physician-assisted death.