Overview
- The procedure took place Friday at 11 a.m. for a 69-year-old woman with terminal pancreatic cancer at Hospital Policial in Montevideo after she signed formal consent following the law’s review steps.
- Uruguay’s Ley de Muerte Digna was approved by Parliament on October 15, 2025 and a government decree in April 2026 established the operational protocols that enabled medical teams to carry out euthanasia.
- The regulation requires a three-stage control process that begins with a voluntary written request, includes independent medical evaluations, and refers disputed cases to a medical board before a final decision.
- The patient’s identity has been withheld at her request; reporting says she was under palliative care, had advanced metastases, had decided months earlier to stop further treatment, and was accompanied by family during the process.
- Officials and health bodies will track how protocols perform and the case is expected to shape further debate on oversight, palliative-care capacity and how Uruguay’s legislative route differs from court-led paths in other Latin American countries.