Date Published: 06/10/2021
ARCHIVED - Man with incurable disease becomes first euthanasia patient in the Region of Murcia
ARCHIVED ARTICLE The patient was assisted in ending his life by staff from Murcia’s Health Service at his home in September
A man suffering from an unspecified incurable disease has become the first patient to benefit from the Euthanasia Law in the Region of Murcia.
According to health sources, the patient died in September at his home, assisted by medical staff from the Murcia Health Service (SMS).
The Commission of Guarantees, responsible for ensuring the correct application of the rule, had previously authourised the dying man’s request, but has not provided any further details, explaining that the information is confidential, and can only be disclosed by family members.
However, in
Andalucía and Madrid, the Commission of Guarantees has not yet been set up yet, and a woman suffering from a chronic incurable musculoskeletal disease sadly committed suicide in a hotel in Madrid on September 19 after reportedly waiting months for the resolution of her application, according to Spanish newspaper El País.
The Region of Murcia was one of the first five communities in Spain to set up this regulatory body once the law was approved, and has now become one of the first regions to perform voluntary euthanasia.
“The process has been very smooth, all the steps set out in the law have been followed and everything has been carried out in accordance with the protocols and the law,” explained health sources.
They added that the case was “clearly in line with the established criteria” as the patient was suffering from “a serious and incurable illness” or “a serious, chronic and incapacitating illness” that causes suffering “that the person experiences as unacceptable and that has not been mitigated by other means”.
The Regional Ministry was initially very critical of the deadlines of the new law, which it considered to be “rushed”, as it required the development of regulations and protocols, as well as setting up the Commission of Guarantees, in less than six months.
But the deadline was met, and José Manuel Allegue, head of the ICU service at Santa Lucía General Hospital was placed at the head of this evaluation and guarantees body.
In an interview over the summer, Allegue said he was critical of the law, considering it “inopportune”, as “it comes at a very bad time, with Covid”, but said he was committed to its implementation, adding: “We are in a position to apply the law.”
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