Víctor Escobar, 60, may become the first person in Colombia to die this Friday thanks to the legalization of euthanasia so that they do not suffer a terminal illness.
"I feel immense tranquility, I do not fear what is to come," the man, originally from the city of Cali, told The Associated Press news agency.
Escobar, who worked as a driver, has suffered multiple health complications throughout his life since he had an accident more than 30 years ago.
He has suffered two strokes, a chronic lung disease known as COPD, high lung pressure, diabetes, and hypertension, among many other complications.
Escobar will be the first Colombian to be legally euthanized without being a terminal patient. Ivan Valencia / AP
Escobar's death may be historic, even more so because it would come preceded by the controversy that generated in October the cancellation of the euthanasia planned for Martha Sepúlveda, a 51-year-old woman who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and who had everything ready. for the procedure when it was abruptly canceled two days before the date she had chosen to die.
The case generated controversy worldwide: Sepúlveda had given an interview to a Colombian media outlet and her firm desire to have a dignified death generated public discontent in sectors such as the Catholic Church, which called her to "reflect."
Martha Sepúlveda will receive euthanasia.
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Due to this negative antecedent, Víctor Escobar decided to go ahead with his process privately: the clinic where it will take place will not be revealed, nor the name of the Health Promotion Company (EPS) that intervened in his request.
“They have told me that the procedure is going to be a slow sedation first, so that I have time to say goodbye.
Then there is the euthanasia injection, which will be painless, a very peaceful death.
I trust in God that all this is like that ”, he assured.
Víctor Escobar, at home after an interview in Cali, Colombia Ivan Valencia / AP
The legal process to obtain approval for his euthanasia began two and a half years ago and he was denied twice for failing to comply with the requirement of suffering a terminal illness.
However, that changed in July 2021 with a Constitutional Court ruling that allowed euthanasia to people suffering from intense physical or mental suffering due to a serious and incurable disease.
["We must end this torture": these people want to die but do not let them]
In Escobar's case, his pain cannot be controlled even with morphine.
After the two strokes he suffered in 2008, he lost the mobility of half his body.
It also depends on oxygen to breathe.
Escobar will say goodbye to his three children, his wife, his brother and his cousins with a lunch:
“I am going to have the opportunity for them to give me their family warmth and their accompaniment and also in my name to thank them ... my family love her with all my soul.
It will be a day of rejoicing for us and I hope it will be something very private. "
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His only concern is that his wife, Diana Francelly Nieto, gets a job in the garment industry and that her financial needs be met.
He says he is clear that it is not an easy decision, but it is very important for others who, like him, suffer serious illnesses.
Colombia, despite being the only country in Latin America where euthanasia is legal, congressional regulation of this right to a dignified death is still needed.
[Denying Martha Sepúlveda a dignified death is "disrespectful" and "illegal": the family of the Colombian woman who asks to die reacts]
"If we ask for a dignified death, it is because fatigue from all diseases has already overcome us, for us life has already ended a long time ago," he explained.
Escobar also decided that he will start with the shirt of his favorite soccer team, Deportivo Cali and will donate his functional organs, according to the newspaper El País.
His struggle and the last moments in life will apparently be captured in a book, according to his consulting attorney Luis Giraldo Montero, who has shared the last hours with him.