Overview

• The Senate passed the bill after about 10 hours of debate with 20 votes in favor out of 31 present, finalizing a measure the lower house approved in August.
• The law allows assisted suicide for adult citizens or residents who are mentally competent and in the terminal stage of an incurable disease that causes suffering.
• The initiative, driven by the ruling Frente Amplio after years of debate, faced organized opposition from religious conservatives, and the Catholic Church expressed sadness at the outcome.
• Uruguay's Medical Association has not adopted an official position, allowing doctors to follow their conscience on participation.
• Polling reported by local media showed more than 60 percent support, and regional context includes court-driven decriminalization in Colombia and Ecuador and Cuba's allowance for refusing artificial life support.