Dr. Gustavo Quintana, also known as Dr. Death, of Colombia performed the first publicly known government-sanctioned euthanasia.
Reported by Latino Fox News, Quintana and other physicians have been performing what they call mercy killings in semi-hidden state for years. This is because of risk of prosecution and rejection by the community and church officials. However, the works of Quintana and his colleagues in the same field went public on Friday last week.
Ovidio Gonzales, 79, became the first ever Colombian to die with government-sanctioned euthanasia. Gonzales has been suffering terminal mouth cancer for five years and his case is the first that allowed euthanasia backed up with the request of terminally ill patients.
Due to a Constitutional Court ruling 17 years ago, Colombia became the first and only country in Latin America to allow euthanasia. This ruling is supported with constitutional clause that states that Colombians have the right to live and die with dignity.
The new rule was just approved this July and as expected, religious groups as well as many doctors were strongly against it. Local Catholic leaders have threatened to close hospitals run by churches if they choose to carry this procedure. Inspector General also tried to stop the new rule which they consider as murder.
Quintana revealed that after the new law was passed, he would receive calls from family members or patients who are looking for an end to their agony. He also said that most of his procedures were done at home with patients surrounded by their family and loved ones.
According to Yahoo UK, right-to-die movements in Columbia have celebrated the new ruling. They said that the new decree provided a clearer view on what has been going on in secret for many years.
"The ambiguity of the law provoked a lot of fear among doctors," said President of Colombia's Right to Die with Dignity foundation Carmenza Ochoa.
One patient who Quintana helped die peacefully was Diego Castro. During his prime, he was a well-loved bar owner but discovered that he had brain tumor back in 2009. He did every surgery possible that could eliminate the cancer but it was not successful and only left him paralyzed. Castro suffered much pain and even attempted suicide.
Juanita Castro, his sister, revealed that Diego convinced his loved ones to agree with him on his decision to die. Three years after his death, she asked if she had regrets and she said she had none.
"When we deny our loved ones the right to apply euthanasia we're really thinking more in ourselves than in the person we love. It's a selfish decision because we don't want to see them to go," Castro said.