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A 51-year-old mother who was expecting to become the first person in Colombia without a terminal prognosis to die by euthanasia will now have to wait, after medical officials determined that her condition had improved.
Martha Sepúlveda, who is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, was blindsided by the Colombia Institute of Pain's sudden decision.
Sepúlveda had been slated to die by euthanasia Sunday at 7am local time, but then she received a letter at home.
'Once again, the termination criterion was not being met and therefore it did not apply to the current rule (...) in a neurologist's concept,' Colombian Institute of Pain director Fredy Quintero said, according to Noticias RCN. 'The current functionality of the patient was not considered to be complying with termination requirements, that leads to have a life expectancy of much more than six months.'
Sepúlveda's lawyer, Camila Jaramillo, told the Washington Post that the Colombian Institute of Pain's decision was "illegitimate and arbitrary," arguing the Colombia's Supreme Court ruled in July that patients who experienced physical and mental pain from a disease that had no cure were still eligible for euthanasia if they did not have a terminal prognosis of at least six months.
Despite the 11th hour decision, Federico Redondo told Blu Radio that his mother is still determined to go through with the euthanasia.
'She again has an immense concern for the future because she knows and is very clear about the difficulty and end of her disease, and she knows
