Particle.news

Uruguay Finalizes Euthanasia Rules as Orsi Signs Implementing Decree

The step places Uruguay among the region’s few countries with a statutory right to medically assisted death.

Overview

  • President Yamandú Orsi signed the regulatory decree on Wednesday, moving the 2025 Muerte Digna law from approval to practical use.
  • The Health Ministry will chair a new review commission to audit cases, with its formal installation still pending.
  • Access is limited to adults who are mentally competent and either terminal with an incurable, irreversible disease or in unbearable suffering, and applicants must file a personal written request reviewed by two doctors, with a medical board if they disagree.
  • Care may be provided by mutual aid societies, the state system ASSE, private insurers, the Hospital de Clínicas, and military and police health services, while private clinics are excluded.
  • Safeguards include a conscience opt‑out for clinicians, annual case reporting, and classifying authorized deaths as natural in official records.