Shownotes
In recent years, assisted dying has become a topic of public debate in Latin America. Although it was decriminalized in Colombia in 1997, other Latin American countries are now beginning their own processes to legalise the practice and popularise what has been termed the right to a dignified death. Having defended and won two landmark legal cases on the question of ‘death with dignity’ in Peru, Josefina Miró Quesada Gayoso has become an important figure in Latin American debates on the topic. In this conversation with Assisted Lab’s Jordan McCullough, she discusses the legal contexts surrounding assisted dying in several Latin American countries and shares her experience of being directly involved in the cases of Ana Estrada and María Benito. She also reflects on the role of stories in informing public opinion on assisted dying and highlights several fundamental distinctions between the development of 'death with dignity' and assisted dying discourses in the Global North and the Global South.