The Peruvian Maria Benito managed to die with dignity on Friday, May 3, after voluntarily rejecting the medical treatments applied to him for suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
The procedure was carried out in compliance with the ruling issued by the Third Constitutional Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, which in February 2024, ordered the Social Health Security (EsSalud) to respect and guarantee the free and informed decision of the 66-year-old woman. In this way, she was finally withdrawn from life support measures, after palliative sedation.
According to his lawyer, Josefina Miro Quesadain a statement he received Infobae Peru, The patient died “surrounded by the love of her family and left sleeping, according to her will.”
“It is an act of humanity, trying to raise awareness in a society that is often not empathetic towards the pain, suffering and sorrow of others. “No one wants or dares to talk about the dignity contained in the act of deciding about the last stretch of our lives,” his children told the media.
“But today, thanks to the fight of our brave mother, and the dissemination and respectful and responsible treatment that you knew how to give her, with great pride we can say that María Benito opened the minds and hearts of thousands of Peruvians who, thanks to her , they know that there is a fundamental right that entitles them to a death in dignified conditions,” they added.
Her lawyer shared through her personal account Twitter/X the last words of Benedict before leaving.
“Good afternoon to my family, friends, schoolmates, former classmates. I thank you infinitely for all the time you spent accompanying me in different ways. I never felt alone, many were aware of the fight I undertook to have a dignified death and finally it was granted to me. However, it was not easy at all,” says Benito at the beginning of his letter to his loved ones.
“Today I want you to know that we all have the right to access this. Nobody knows what will happen in old age, but they already know that they do not have to suffer or make their family suffer. I love life, but not in these conditions. I know not everyone agrees, but I understand. I ask the divine to be very happy and bless you. They will always be in my heart. I am leaving happy because I fulfilled part of my dreams and I will leave a legacy to my two wonderful children,” she adds.
Then, she allocates a section to the lawyers who were with her at all times: “I also want to say to the Dr. Josefina Miro Quesadato Dr. Percy (Castle)“Thank you a million for your perseverance and all the effort you made to make that possible.”
“Today I just take the lead. You already know that I liked to always be ahead. I am leaving happy because I fulfilled part of my dreams and projects, and I leave a legacy to two wonderful children, four grandchildren and a great-grandson,” she concludes.
María Benito lived more than ten years with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a disease that has no cure, and that is degenerative. The ailment advanced to such a point that it completely immobilized her, so she could only communicate through her eyes.
In this context, he requested to refuse his medical treatment as part of his fundamental rights. His request was always protected by the General law of health, its Regulations and the code of medical ethics. This was reflected in the ruling that the Judiciary issued in his favor, after five months of litigation.
“The right to refuse medical treatments is a form of adaptation of the therapeutic effort; “a medical practice that is applied when a treatment is no longer beneficial for a person and, on the contrary, causes suffering,” he explains. Miro Quesada in his statement.
This allows a person not to start or stop treatment so that their disease can run its course, even if this results in a natural death. So, due to its characteristics, it is different from euthanasia, where a lethal substance is applied that causes death at the patient’s request.
