Uruguay’s lower house has passed a bill to legalise euthanasia, moving it to the senate for expected approval.
Uruguay’s lower house has passed a bill to legalise euthanasia, moving it to the senate for expected approval.
Uruguay’s Chamber of Representatives has voted to legalise euthanasia, marking a significant step toward joining the ranks of countries allowing assisted dying. The bill passed on Wednesday with 64 votes in favour out of 99, following an emotional overnight debate. It now heads to the Senate, where it is widely expected to be approved before the end of the year.
Under the proposed law, mentally competent adults suffering from terminal or incurable illnesses may request euthanasia. A key amendment—requiring a medical board review if the two attending doctors disagree—helped secure broader support among lawmakers.
Introducing the debate, legislator Luis Gallo of the ruling centre-left Broad Front coalition paid tribute to patients whose experiences inspired the bill. “The request is strictly personal; it respects the free and individual will of the patient, without interference, because it concerns their life, their suffering, their decision not to continue living,” Gallo said.
Public opinion polls indicate strong national support for euthanasia, including from President Yamandú Orsi. Uruguay, which has historically been at the forefront of progressive reforms in Latin America—legalising gay marriage, abortion, and cannabis—now moves closer to joining Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Canada, Spain, and New Zealand in recognising the right to die with medical assistance.
The conversation around euthanasia gained momentum in 2019, when Fernando Sureda, a former head of Uruguay’s football association diagnosed with a degenerative disease, publicly campaigned for the right to choose an assisted death.
If passed into law, the measure would mark another milestone in Uruguay’s progressive legislative record, potentially reshaping end-of-life care across the predominantly Catholic region.
Easily access major global news with a strong focus on Africa. As well as the main stories of the day, we like to accentuate positive stories about Africa across all genres including Politics, Business, Commerce, Science, Sports, Arts & Culture, Showbiz and Fashion.
We broadcast 24 hours a day from our studios in London and New York and can be seen here in the UK and across Europe on the Sky platform (Sky channel 516), Freeview (Channel 136) as well as in the USA on the Centric channel and also on the Hot bird platform, which transmits to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.