A woman who requested euthanasia commits suicide in a hotel in Madrid

The Gómez Ulla Hospital in Madrid, which gave no response to the patient, this September.Olmo Calvo

Sitting in the armchair of her apartment in Madrid, this woman said on September 3 that she couldn't take it anymore, that her life was limited to fighting unbearable pain, but that she lost the battle every day, every night, and that the only hope that still separated her from the drawer where she kept the substance with which she would have to commit suicide last Sunday was the possibility that she would be euthanized, whose regulatory law had entered into force in Spain on June 25. Just a few days later, on July 7, she went to see her reference doctor at the Gómez Ulla hospital in Madrid and asked him to help her die. The doctor initially said yes, but 48 hours later she telephoned her to inform her that she had declared herself a conscientious objector.The law establishes that in these cases another doctor must be appointed to examine the patient and assess whether he meets the requirements established by law. But she complained that she only got silence. Last Sunday, the 19th, this woman who had told her case in EL PAÍS under the condition that her name never be revealed, opened that drawer, booked a room in a hotel in Madrid and took her own life.

Only two weeks and two days had passed since, as the last attempt to break the silence of the Gómez Ulla hospital and the Community of Madrid towards her case, this woman told the details of the disease - an incurable chronic musculoskeletal disease, aggravated by her opioid intolerance - suffered for 14 years and recently added "high-grade, invasive" bladder cancer. The only witnesses to the conversation were her best friend — the only one who was aware of her plans — and Dr. Fernando Marín, advisor to the Right to Die with Dignity (DMD) association.

"The decision is made," he explained with great determination.

I don't think I will arrive in time for the law to be applied to me.

I have always said that I do not want to live if I cannot make a decision about my life.

And I can't sew anymore, I can't read.

There is nothing that excites me.

Any.

It is not a whim, it is that my life consists of suffering as little as possible, and even then my suffering is intolerable.

That's why I say that maybe I'll last until October or maybe not.

—And if you cannot avail yourself of the law, have you looked for alternatives to die?

-Yes.

I have alternatives.

They are not nice, but there are.

But psychologically it is very violent.

It is violent to think: "I am committing suicide."

I do not want that.

I don't want to commit suicide.

I just want you to help me stop suffering.

Nothing more.

For me it is inconceivable that there is a law and that it cannot be applied.

More information

• Deaf ears for a woman who asks to die

• 10 keys to the new law on euthanasia and assisted suicide

• Four communities have not yet constituted the commissions that have the last word on euthanasia

A spokesperson for the Madrid Regional Ministry of Health has limited himself to saying: “The doctor who treated her declared herself an objector. That is why it was assessed by another hospital doctor, who considered that it did not meet the criteria ”. The information in this newspaper does not match the official version. During the interview at her home, the euthanasia applicant repeatedly complained about Gómez Ulla's lack of response. And Dr. Fernando Marín - who had prepared an extensive report in which he explained that the patient met all the requirements established by the euthanasia regulation law - confirmed this Thursday that she was never evaluated by a second doctor. Hence, he himself filed a complaint at the beginning of September with the General Directorate of Humanization and Patient Care of the Community of Madrid.The response was limited to acknowledging receipt of the complaint and sending it to the Vice-Ministry of Health Assistance and Public Health. Nothing more.

It was not the first time that the Madrid administration turned a deaf ear. On July 14, the woman filed a complaint at the Gómez Ulla Hospital in which she stated that, two days before, her doctor from the rehabilitation service had telephoned her to inform her that she had declared herself an objector and that the request to help her dying was left in the hands of the medical department of the hospital, dependent on the Ministry of Defense. In the text of the complaint, the patient already warned: “In accordance with the law, my request must be incorporated into my medical history and, in the event that my doctor objects, the Health Administration will facilitate contact with another doctor to to manage my request for help to die. A week later I still have no response, which is clearly irregular.The responsible doctor can always deny my request in writing and with reasons within a period of 10 days ”. And he added: “Regardless of whether the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission has been appointed or not, which depends on the Department of Health of the Community of Madrid, the Gómez Ulla hospital has the obligation to process my request without further delay. I let you know that my clear, firm, reiterated and unequivocal will to die in the hospital is due to the constant and intolerable suffering that I suffer, so I urge you to respect my right to decide how long I must endure so much physical and mental pain " .which depends on the Department of Health of the Community of Madrid, the Gómez Ulla hospital has the obligation to process my request without further delay. I let you know that my clear, firm, reiterated and unequivocal will to die in the hospital is due to the constant and intolerable suffering that I suffer, so I urge you to respect my right to decide how long I must endure so much physical and mental pain " .which depends on the Department of Health of the Community of Madrid, the Gómez Ulla hospital has the obligation to process my request without further delay. I let you know that my clear, firm, reiterated and unequivocal will to die in the hospital is due to the constant and intolerable suffering that I suffer, so I urge you to respect my right to decide how long I must endure so much physical and mental pain " .

This woman did not want to take her own life in her apartment or have her name transcend, to prevent the stigma of suicide from persecuting those closest to her.

She wanted to escape her torment of so many years as the law says, in a hospital, cared for by medical personnel, in peace, without a scandal of policemen breaking down the door or looking for accomplices.

"Maybe I can last until October or maybe not ...", he said on September 3.