Amber Edirisinghe
AN elderly woman crippled by a painful hip condition that left her bedridden in constant pain, has killed herself after her pleas for euthanasia were ignored.
She had spent four months ‘desperately’ asking to be painlessly killed under Spain’s recently passed euthanasia law.
According to the Association for the Right to a Dignified Death (Association Derecho a Morir Dignamente or DMD), 83-year-old Emilia MM was placed in a ‘terrible situation’.
She suffered from an untreatable congenital hip dislocation, which over the years had worsened, leaving her bedridden, in great pain and totally reliant on her family..
Within days of Spain passing a law permitting euthanasia on June 25, 2021 she submitted her request for a ‘dignified death’, but to no avail.
A DMD spokesman claimed that despite her suffering and the fact her case ‘fulfilled the conditions’, both her GP and health centre ‘ignored the required procedures and refused to process her request’.
In the end she decided to take matters into her own hands out of despair.
The spokesman added that the case shows the need for more training on how the law should be applied, as the medical staff involved claimed to not know the law and ‘didn’t listen to the patient’.
He stressed that ‘it will take more fighting to ensure that what was passed in the Spanish Parliament by an overwhelming majority is put into effect’.
Aragon’s Department of Health said it is ‘absolutely committed’ to the euthanasia law and ‘is going to be extremely vigilant’ ensuring its conditions are met.
The DMD claims that other autonomous communities have placed ‘bureaucratic blocks’ in place to hinder people from applying for euthanasia.
READ MORE:
- Explainer: Euthanasia law in Spain comes into force
- OPINION: Now that euthanasia is legal in Spain how can we ensure we safeguard the most vulnerable in society
