Overview

• Parliament approved the measure after roughly 12 hours of debate, advancing a bill introduced in 2020 by deputy Ope Pasquet.
• Eligibility requires an incurable terminal condition or unbearable suffering with grave deterioration of quality of life, adulthood, Uruguayan citizenship or legal residency, and demonstrated psychic aptitude.
• Uruguay becomes the third country in Latin America to permit assisted death, following court-driven access in Colombia and Ecuador, and joins countries such as Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
• Critics warn the law does not require psychological or psychiatric assessments to distinguish treatable depression from a voluntary, informed request for assisted death.
• Supporters present the reform as an expansion of personal liberty consistent with other liberal policies in Uruguay, with public opinion influenced by cases like ALS patient Fernando Sureda and the documentary “Hay una puerta ahí.”