Peruvian woman dies by euthanasia

LIMA: A Peruvian woman suffering from a degenerative illness has died by euthanasia after a lengthy court battle ended in a landmark ruling allowing her to end her life with medical assistance, her lawyer said on Monday.

Ana Estrada, 47, had lived with a rare incurable condition called polymyositis, which causes muscle weakness, for the past three decades. She was bed-ridden and required a ventilator to breathe. She died on Sunday, her lawyer Josefina Miro Quesada said on X.

Estrada, a psychologist, went to court in 2016 to fight for access to euthanasia, illegal in Peru. In 2022, the Latin American nation’s Supreme Court confirmed a ruling that gave Estrada an exemption to end her life.

Ana Estrada, a euthanasia advocate who suffers from an incurable condition, lies in bed at her home in Lima

Ana Estrada, a euthanasia advocate who suffers from an incurable condition that atrophies her muscles and has left her breathing through a ventilator, lies in bed at her home in Lima, Peru February 7, 2020. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab.