Legalising active voluntary euthanasia through the courts: Some lessons from Colombia

Medical Law Review

Volumn 17, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 183-218

  Michlowski, Sabine ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; COLOMBIA; HUMAN; LEGAL ASPECT; VOLUNTARY EUTHANASIA;

COLOMBIA; EUTHANASIA, ACTIVE, VOLUNTARY; HUMANS;

EID: 67649625507     PISSN: 09670742     EISSN: 14643790     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/medlaw/fwp006     Document Type: Article

References (153)

1. However, see P Lewis, Assisted Dying and Legal Change (OUP 2007) 8.
2. web.minjusticia.gov.co/jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/1997/ Constitucionalidad/C-239-97.htm, hereafter Euthanasia decision.
3. The wording of the new Article 106 is similar to that of the former Article 326, but the penalty for mercy killings increased to imprisonment of 16-54 months. Because the Constitutional Court's decision analyses the old Article 326, this article will refer to the old Article 326 rather than to the new Article 106.
4. All translations from Spanish to English are the author's.
5. See, for example, the Constitutional Court decisions T-493 of 1993, web.minjusticia.gov.co/jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/1993/Tutela/ T-493-93.htm;
6. C-221 of 1994, web minjusticia.gov.Co/jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/ 1994/Constitucionalidad/C-221-94.htm
7. T-401 of 1994, web.minjusticia.gov.co/jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/ 1994/Tutela/T-401-94.htm.
8. See also Jesús Orlando Gómez López, Homicidio Eutanásico e Inducción al Suicidio (Ediciones Jurídicas Gustavo Ibañez 2005) 21 and 23.
9. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 37-9.
10. Euthanasia decision, at 8, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
11. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 39.
12. Ibid. at 43-4
13. see also Euthanasia decisión, at 1.4, per Naranjo Mesa.
14. Euthanasia decision, at 8 per Cifuentes Muñoz.
15. Ibid.
16. JG Hernández Galindo, Poder y Constitución (Legis 2001) 343.
17. Euthanasia decision, at I.B.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Ibid., at ILB, per Gaviria Díaz.
22. See also Alonso Gómez Méndez, Delitos Contra la Vida y la Integridad Personal (Universidad Externado de Colombia 1998) 195, who argues that the Criminal Code provision on mercy killings does not provide an authorisation for the elimination of the lives of those who experience grave suffering, but rather simply reduces the punishment of the offender because of the lesser intensity of the legal reproach.
23. Euthanasia decision, at II.B.1.b, per Gaviria Díaz.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. See, for example, s.293 of the Dutch Criminal Code; s.216 of the German Criminal Code, s.114 of the Swiss Criminal Code.
28. Gómez Méndez, above n. 18, at 209
29. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 90.
30. Gómez López, ibid. at 91.
31. Ibid., at 54.
32. See also Gómez Méndez, above n.18, at 209.
33. Gómez Méndez, above n. 18, at 209
34. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 14.
35. Gómez López, ibid. at 26.
36. Euthanasia decision, at II.B, per Gaviria Díaz.
37. Ibid. at II.C.
38. Ibid. at II.C.1.
39. Ibid.
40. Ibid., with reference to Constitutional Court decision T-401 of 1992, web.minjusticia.gov.co/jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/1992/ Tutela/T-401-92.htm.
41. Colombia is a social state governed by the rule of law.... based on respect for human dignity, work, and solidarity between all citizens, as well as on giving precedence to the general interest'.
42. ...It is the obligation of each person and citizen ... (2) to act according to the principle of social solidarity, reacting with humanitarian actions to situations that put the life or health of others at risk'.
43. Euthanasia decision, at II.C.1, per Gaviria Díaz.
44. Ibid.
45. Ibid., with reference to Constitutional Court decisions T-366 of 1993, www.ideam.gov.co:8080/legal/sentens/1993/t-366-1993.html
46. and T-123 of 1994, web minjusticia.gov.co/jurisprudencia/ CorteConstitucional/1994/Tutela/T-123-94.htm.
47. Euthanasia decision, at II.C.2, per Gaviria Díaz.
48. Ibid.
49. See also, for example, Constitutional Court decision C-578 of 1995, web.minjusticia.gov.co/jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/1995/ Constitucionalidad/C-578-95.htm.
50. Euthanasia decision, at II.C.2, per Gaviria Díaz.
51. Ibid. at II.C.3.
52. Ibid.
53. Ibid.
54. Ibid. at II.D.
55. Ibid.
56. Ibid.
57. Ibid., concurring opinion of Arango Mejia and Gaviria Díaz.
58. Hernandez Galindo, Naranjo Mesa, Herrera Vergara, Cifuentes Muñoz.
59. MJ Cepeda Espinosa, Derecbo Constitucional Jurisprudencial (Legis 2001) 135.
60. See, for example, Alvaro Jiménez Cadena, 'Eutanasia: Problema humano y moral', (1997) June Revista Javeriana, 391-399, at 396.
61. Euthanasia decision, at II.C.1, per Gaviria Díaz.
62. Constitutional Court decision C-224 of 1994, web.minjusticia.gov.co/ jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/1994/Constitucionalidad/C-224-94.htm.
63. Euthanasia decision, at 4, per Naranjo Mesa.
64. Ibid. at 2, per Hernandez Galindo; also per Herrera Vergara.
65. Ibid. at 2, per Hernandez Galindo.
66. Ibid. at 2.1, per Naranjo Mesa, with reference to previous Constitutional Court decisions.
67. In the Colombian Constitutional Court, the final decision of the Court is written by one of the judges once a draft decision was presented to the Court and agreed upon.
68. C Gaviria Díaz, Ta Eutanasia' (2001) 468 Consigna 26- 30, at 27.
69. However, note that the approach that the right to life implies a negative right not to live was, for example, rejected by the European Court of Human Rights in Pretty v UK (2002) 35 EHRR 1, at para. 6.
70. Euthanasia decision, at 2.1, per Naranjo Mesa, and at 4, per Hernández Galindo.
71. Ibid. at 3, per Hernández Galindo.
72. Constitutional Court decision C-133 of 1994, www.estudiosconstitucionales.com/SENTENCIAS_archivos/c-133-94.htm.
73. Constitutional Court decision C-013 of 1997, web.mmmsticia.gov.co/ jurisprudencia/CorteConstitucional/1997/Constitucionalidad/C-013-97.htm.
74. Euthanasia decision, at 3, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
75. Ibid., at 6.
76. See also J Rodríguez, 'Cómo se viene la muerte tan callando', in Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Giro Editores 1997) 67-84, at 79.
77. See also G Calderon Legarda, 'La falsa dicotomía entre lo absoluto y lo relativo en el problema de la eutanasia', in F Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Girc, Editores 1997) 125-34, at 132-3.
78. Euthanasia decision, per Herrera Vergara.
79. See, for example, Pretty v UK (2002) 35 EHRR 1, at para.74.
80. For a discussion of the issue of consent which is closely linked to the vulnerability argument see infra 3.1.2.
81. Euthanasia decision, per Herrera Vergara.
82. Ibid. at 6, per Hernandez Galindo.
83. Ibid.
84. See, for example, ibid. at 8, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
85. For a brief overview of arguments sustaining that suicide cannot be autonomous, see Lewis, above n. 1, at 24-5
86. see also M Orlowski, Voluntary Euthanasia and the Common Law (Clarendon Press 1997) 229-31.
87. See above nn. 5-7 and accompanying text.
88. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 15-6.
89. For a similar argument see Compassion in Dying v Washington, 79 F.3d 790 (9th Cir. 1996), at 820, per Reinhardt, Circuit judge, reversed in Washington v Glucksberg (1997) 521 US 702.
90. But see Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney-General) [1993] 3 SCR 519, at 234 per Lamer C.J.C. who argued that those who are not terminally ill but experience extreme suffering and regard their quality of life as undi lified might be unjustifiably discriminated against by an approach that mares terminal illness a decisive criterion for the legalisation of euthanasia.
91. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 34-5.
92. F.Guzmán Mora, Derecho Médico Colombiano - Elementos Básicos (vol. 1 Biblioteca Jurídica Dike 2004) 1093.
93. A Papacchini, Derecho a la Vida (Editorial Universidad del Valle 2001) 150.
94. M Trías Fargas, 'La eutanasia a la luz del día', in F Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Giro Editores 1997), 85-94, at 89.
95. Gómez López, above n. 5, at 34-5.
96. Euthanasia decision, at 4, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
97. This resembles the doctrine of double effect applied by English courts to the provision of painkillers that shorten the patient's life. Criminal liability for the ensuing death of the patient is avoided by arguing that even though the physician will foresee that death might be hastened by the administration of the medication, this is no more than an incidental and unavoidable side-effect of bringing about the good consequence of relieving pain. See, for example, Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] 1 All ER 821, at 868 per Lord Goff
98. Re J [1991] Fam 33 at 46 per Lord Donaldson MR
99. R v Cox (1992) 12 BMLR 38 (Winchester CC), at 41 per Ognall J.
100. Euthanasia decision, at 4, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
101. Declaración del Instituto Colombiano de Estudios Bioéticos frente a la eutanasia jurídicamente permitida, in F Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Giro Editores 1997) 177-8, at 178.
102. Trías Fargas, above n. 82, at 92.
103. G Díaz, above n. 60, at 30.
104. S Pániker, 'La eutanasia voluntaria: Un derecho humano' (2001) 468 Consigna 30-5, at 33.
105. For a discussion, see, for example, J Griffiths, H Weyers and M Adams, Euthanasia and the Law in Europe (Hart Publishing 2008) 41-4
106. S Gevers, 'Terminal Sedation, a Legal A proach' (2003) 10 EJHL 359-67
107. G Williams, 'The Principle of Double Effect and Terminal Sedation' (2001) 9 Med. L. Rev. 41-53.
108. Euthanasia decision, at 1, per Hernández Galindo, Naranjo Mesa, and Herrera Vergara.
109. Ibid. at 1, per Hernández Galindo.
110. for example Alfonso Tamayo Tamayo, 'Reflexiones jurídico-éticas sobre homicidio por piedad y derechos humanos', in F Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Giro Editores 1997) 55-66, at 57.
111. For a discussion, see N Osuna Patiño, 'La jurisprudencia constitucional sobre el nuevo Código Penal', in E Montealegre Lynett (ed.), Anuario de Derecho Constitucional (Universidad Externador de Colombia 2003) 224-6.
112. L Fernando Tocora, Derecho Penal Especial (10th edn Libreria Ediciones del Profesional Ltd. 2004) 60.
113. Euthanasia decision, at 9, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
114. Ibid. at 1, per Hernández Galindo.
115. See also Lewis, above n. 1, at 148.
116. www.elabedul.net/Articulos/Nuevos/proyecto_eutanasia.php.
117. news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_7072000/7072322.stm.
118. See, for example, Tamayo Tamayo, above n. 94, at 64.
119. Rodríguez, above n. 66, at 72 and 74.
120. Ibid.
121. See at II.D, per Gaviria Díaz.
122. Declaración del Instituto Colombiano de Estudios Bioéticos frente a la eutanasia jurídicamente permitida, above n. 89, at 178.
123. Article 3 of the Bill.
124. Article 3, No.2 of the Bill.
125. See also Trías Fargas, above n. 82, at 94.
126. For a similar suggestion see Gómez López, above n. 5, at 102-3.
127. See R (on the application of Pretty) v DPP [2002] 1 All ER I (UK)
128. Rodriguez v British Columbia (Attorney-General) [1993] 3 SCR 519 (Canada)
129. Washington v GlucksberK (1997) 521 US 702
130. and Vacco v Quill (1997) 521 US 793 (US).
131. For the approach of the European Court of Human Rights see Pretty v UK (2002) 35 EHRR 1.
132. For references to the discussion of these issues by US and Canadian courts, ee above n. 76.
133. See, for example, Hernández Galindo, above n. 12, at 71.
134. Trías Fargas, above n. 82, at 94.
135. See, for example, interview with Gustavo Alfonso Quintana, diariomediko.com/?p=149.
136. Ibid.
137. Euthanasia decision, at ILD, per Gaviria Díaz.
138. Asociación Colombiana de Facultades de Medicina ASCOFAME, División de Educación, 'Eutanasia', in F Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Giro Editores 1997) 183-96, at 185.
139. F Sánchez Torres, 'La ética médica frente a la muerte', in F Sánchez Torres (ed.), La Eutanasia (Giro Editores 1997) 135-45, at 145.
140. Euthanasia decision, per Naranjo Mesa.
141. Ibid. at 1, per Hernández Galindo, and at 3, per Cifuentes Muñoz.
142. Rodríguez, above n. 66, at 69.
143. See also Declaracion del Instituto Colombiano de Estudios Bioéticos frente a la eutanasia jurídicamente permitida, 123 above n. 87, at 177.
144. Euthanasia decision, per Naranjo Mesa
145. and at 2 per Cifuentes Muñoz.
146. Euthanasia decision, at 8(4), per Cifuentes Muñoz.
147. See Rodríguez, above n. 66, at 72 and 74.
148. Gaviria Díaz, above n. 60, at 29
149. see also Tamayo Tamayo, above n. 92, at 57 and 66.
150. Tocora, above n. 96, at 62-63.
151. See also Papacchim, above n. 83, at 149, who in addition argued that a state that decriminalises suicide but penalises euthanasia acts discriminatorily towards those who are physically unable to end their lives themselves.
152. Gaviria Díaz, above n. 60, at 26.
153. One suggestion to overcome this particular inconsistency would be to apply the defence established by the Constitutional Court for the case of mercy killings by analogy also to incitement to or assistance with suicide until a more consistent regulation of the whole area of law is introduced by way of legislation, see Gómez López, above n. 5, at 175.