{"status":"success","siteTitle":"Assisted Lab\nLiving Archive of Assisted Dying","title":"\u2018Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte\u2019 by Marcos Hourmann","slug":"celebrare-mi-muerte","url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/performative\/celebrare-mi-muerte","body":"<p>A 59-year-old white-haired man, wearing a knit sweater and ochre blazer, sits on a chair, alone on the stage. Behind him, a full-wall screen shows a video of driving at night \u2013 we follow a dark road as if we were in a car and the headlights were our eyes. In the background, a flamenco guitar strums a foreboding theme. The man starts telling a story: \u2018On the morning of March 29, 2005, my life changed radically, but I didn\u2019t know it yet\u2026 The woman I killed was named Carmen. She was 82 years old. Even if I hadn\u2019t made that decision, she, Carmen, was dead. I pleaded guilty to avoid going to jail. But there was no trial, there was a deal. I didn\u2019t have the chance to explain myself; and the jury couldn\u2019t reach a verdict. That\u2019s why I\u2019d like you to judge me tonight\u2026 My name is Marcos Ariel Hourmann, and I\u2019m not an actor; I\u2019m a doctor \u2013 the first doctor convicted in Spain for practicing euthanasia\u2019 (translated from Spanish, as all other quotes, unless otherwise noted). This is the trailer for the play <em>Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte<\/em> (I will celebrate my death), co-written by Alberto San Juan and V\u00edctor Morilla (also co-directors), as well as by Hourmann, who tells his story as a plain-spoken monologue aided by images, then invites the audience to deliberate and pass judgment on his actions. The facts have been widely reported: an Argentinian expat working on emergency care in Spain in 2005, Dr. Hourmann attended to 82-year-old Carmen, who was brought to the hospital in critical condition: heart attack and gastrointestinal hemorrhage as terminal developments of a colon cancer. Carmen, who was accompanied by her daughter, asked Hourmann to let her die right away, but he still treated her \u2013 until there was nothing else to be done, as her clinical situation was irreversible. He explained to the daughter they could only sedate Carmen, but the daughter asked him to help her mother die. Hourmann states he remembered his own father\u2019s terminal suffering and identified with the patient\u2019s daughter \u2013 as if, in that moment, Carmen was also his parent. So, he administered a potassium chloride injection to Carmen, which caused her death by cardiovascular arrest. Hourmann knew the only authorized protocol was palliative sedation. Even though there are hush-hush stories of doctors\u2019 helping patients die outside the law, Hourmann felt he had nothing to hide \u2013 so he registered the procedure in Carmen\u2019s medical record. That note became the main piece of evidence in the legal and public-opinion trials that ensued.<\/p><p>Dr. Hourmann\u2019s story has been told both with and without his involvement. The first version appeared in 2010, under the sensationalist headline \u2018Killer doc worked in UK hospital\u2019,  in the British tabloid <em>The Sun<\/em>. Hourmann then undertook various initiatives to regain narrative control. Besides the play, notable iterations of his account include the self-published 2017 memoir <em>Morir viviendo, vivir muriendo<\/em> (To die living, to live dying) and the 2026 episode \u2018Historia cl\u00ednica\u2019 (Medical record) of the investigative podcast <em>Radio Ambulante<\/em>, which features long segments of interviews with the doctor. If the book (now out of print) informed the play, the podcast may be the closest one can get to being in the audience without going to the theatre. Since the performance is interactive, there are no recordings available online, in order to protect the privacy of the participants. Multiple critics call attention to the play\u2019s unadorned language and expression, deeming it \u2018completely natural, as if he [Hourmann] were narrating the events to a group of friends\u2019 (<em>Espet\u00e1culos BCN<\/em>, translated from Catalan), and \u2018stripped of vehemence, of ponderous metaphors\u2026 whereas the only thing that matters are the facts\u2019 (<em>Mi reino por un caballo<\/em>). This commitment to cold reporting seems more than a stylistic choice, having also ethical reverberations. Reviewers note that the work doesn\u2019t come across as a defence of euthanasia, but rather \u2018as a documentary, [presenting] positions both against and in favor of euthanasia\u2019 (<em>En Platea<\/em>) and generating \u2018more questions than affirmations\u2019 (<em>elDiario<\/em>). At the end of Hourmann\u2019s monologue, the audience becomes the jury, responsible for delivering innocent-or-guilty verdicts and optional written notes to the doctor, who reads some of them out loud. As is the nature of theatre \u2013 all the more so in interactive plays \u2013 every performance is different, and there are days when the judgement hits harder, as reports <em>El Pa\u00eds<\/em>: \u2018At the end of a Saturday show, after the verdict, Hourmann was visibly disconcerted\u2019 and unable to read the comments aloud or to complete the vote tally. To an interviewer who asked Hourmann how it feels to relive on stage the greatest dilemma he experienced as a doctor, he answered his \u2018first sensation is happiness\u2026 because [he] learned to know and listen to the silence, and this silence\u2026 makes [him] feel that people are completely focused on what they listen\u2026  and every time is like the first time\u2019 (<em>La Clem Cultura<\/em>).<\/p><p>In an interview with <em>Infobae<\/em>, Hourmann stated that, in Spain, the reception of the play echoes society, with 85-90% of the verdicts being in favour of euthanasia (for comparison, a 2021 poll from the <em>Centro de Investigaciones Sociol\u00f3gicas<\/em> found that 72% of citizens favoured the legality of the procedure; Ferdinand von Schirach\u2019s contemporary play <em>GOTT<\/em>, also reviewed by <em>Assisted Lab<\/em>, has tallied 62% of \u2018yes\u2019 to-date). Between Carmen\u2019s assisted death in 2005 and the play\u2019s run from 2019 to 2023, Spain\u2019s legal landscape changed \u2013 but not without turmoil for Hourmann. Carmen\u2019s family always stood by him, but the hospital where Carmen died fired and sued the doctor, interpreting his clinical note as an admission of guilt. While Hourmann maintains he never regretted his deed, he made a deal with the prosecutors in 2009, pleading guilty to manslaughter to avoid going to jail \u2013 and having to pay a \u20ac1600 fine, plus serve one year in conditional liberty (sentence 110\/2009 from Tarragona\u2019s Provincial Audience details the case while referring to Hourmann as \u2018Alexis\u2019, a fictitious name). No longer able to find employment in Spain, Hourmann moved with his family to the UK, where <em>The Sun<\/em> exploited his story. This led to his being fired again, because Hourmann had failed to disclose his criminal case to UK employers (a 2010 briefing by UK Health Regulators<em> <\/em>informs he was suspended from the General Medical Council\u2019s registry due to \u2018Dr H\u2019s history and potential threat to patient safety\u2019). When Spain approved Organic Law 3\/2021 regulating euthanasia, Hourmann\u2019s play \u2013 then already being staged for 2 years \u2013 was not changed, as reports <em>La Vanguardia<\/em>: \u2018Although the public debate has evolved, <em>Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte<\/em> speaks of the situation and the struggle to achieve this law\u2019. The theatrical piece has been promoted by groups such as <em>Luto in Colores<\/em>, an educational project dedicated to breaking the taboos surrounding death, and the <em>Derecho a Morir Dignamente <\/em>association, which has also organized events with Hourmann. Like the story of Colombian poet Carlos Framb, popularized by the memoir <em>Del otro lado del jard\u00edn<\/em> and a homonymous film (see related <em>Assisted Lab<\/em> entries), the legal citations precede the cultural objects that helped spread the stories; and yet, the stories go beyond their initial jurisdictions. Hourmann\u2019s chronicle became entwined with the saga of Spain\u2019s euthanasia reform, but also serves as a reminder that in Hourmann\u2019s birth country of Argentina, where the play was also staged, assisted dying remains illegal.<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.3157894736842106,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/performative\/celebrare-mi-muerte\/5e8cf87369-1782247069\/forain-1927-court_scene-2410x-q90.jpg","caption":"Jean-Louis Forain, court scene, 1927"},"data":[{"title":"Title","value":"\u2018Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte\u2019 by Marcos Hourmann"},{"title":"Author","value":"Marcos Hourmann"},{"title":"Year","value":"2019"},{"title":"Language","value":"Spanish"},{"title":"Tags","value":"Death Outside the Law \u2022 High Profile Cases \u2022 Provider Perspective"},{"title":"Legislative context","value":"Criminal Code, Art 143, updated according to the Ley Org\u00e1nica 3\/2021, 2021 (Spain) \u2022 Organic Law 3\/2021 regulating euthanasia, 24 March 2021 (Spain) \u2022 Law on the right to refuse medical treatment (Ley 26.742), 2012 (Argentina)"},{"title":"Author of entry","value":"Carlos A. Pittella"},{"title":"Last updated","value":"06.07.2026 at 21:47"}],"toggles":[{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"Llu\u00efsa Gu\u00e0rdia, \u2018Cr\u00edtica: Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte \u2013 Teatre Goya\u2019, Espect\u00e1culosBCN, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.espectaculosbcn.com\/critica-celebrare-mi-muerte-teatro-del-barrio\/","pathname":"espectaculosbcn.com"},{"text":"Watanabe Lemans, \u2018CELEBRAR\u00c9 MI MUERTE. El und\u00e9cimo mandamiento\u2019, Mi reino por un caballo, 2019","link":"https:\/\/mireinoporuncaballo.blog\/2019\/04\/10\/celebrare-mi-muerte-el-undecimo-mandamiento\/","pathname":"mireinoporuncaballo.blog"},{"text":"Javier Vallejo, \u2018Las cosas en su sitio\u2019, El Pa\u00eds, 2019","link":"https:\/\/elpais.com\/cultura\/2019\/03\/29\/babelia\/1553870884_524633.html","pathname":"elpais.com"},{"text":"Mois\u00e9s C. Alabau, \u2018Muerte inherente a la vida\u2019, En Platea, 2019","link":"https:\/\/enplatea.com\/muerte-inherente-a-la-vida\/","pathname":"enplatea.com"},{"text":"Jos\u00e9 Antonio Luna, \u2018Provoqu\u00e9 la muerte porque creo en la vida: el doctor condenado por eutanasia se somete a juicio en el teatro\u2019, elDiario.es, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.eldiario.es\/cultura\/teatro\/provoque-muerte-doctor-condenado-eutanasia_1_1629663.html","pathname":"eldiario.es"},{"text":"Raquel Vidales, \u2018El m\u00e9dico condenado por eutanasia se somete a juicio en el teatro\u2019, El Pa\u00eds, 2019","link":"https:\/\/elpais.com\/cultura\/2019\/03\/13\/actualidad\/1552493653_149009.html","pathname":"elpais.com"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Celebrar\u00e9 Mi Muerte\u2019, #Cont\u00e1meloOtraVez \u2013 Z y G Producciones, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=zn1mxeDV9K0","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018El m\u00e9dico argentino condenado por eutanasia, ahora lo cuenta en un impactante unipersonal teatral\u2019, infobae, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.infobae.com\/cultura\/2022\/12\/09\/el-medico-argentino-condenado-por-eutanasia-ahora-lo-cuenta-en-un-impactante-unipersonal-teatral\/","pathname":"infobae.com"},{"text":"\u2018Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte: la historia del primer condenado por eutanasia llega al teatro Goya\u2019, La Vanguardia, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.lavanguardia.com\/cultura\/20221102\/8590708\/celebrare-mi-muerte-primer-condenado-eutanasia-teatro-goya.html","pathname":"lavanguardia.com"},{"text":"\u2018Entrevista a Marcos Hourmann: Celebrar\u00e9 Mi Muerte en Barcelona Districte Cultural\u2019, La Clem Cultura, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UDtjwHKbPmo","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte, mon\u00f3logo de una eutanasia\u2019, La Cafetera \u2013 Radiocable, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.radiocable.com\/celebrare-mi-muerte-monologo-eutanasia-marcos-marcos-hourmann-165.html","pathname":"radiocable.com"},{"text":"\u2018Habla el \u00fanico m\u00e9dico condenado en Espa\u00f1a por practicar la eutanasia: No me considero ni un homicida ni un asesino\u2019, laSexta, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.lasexta.com\/programas\/el-intermedio\/gonzo\/habla-el-unico-medico-condenado-en-espana-por-practicar-la-eutanasia-no-me-considero-ni-un-homicida-ni-un-asesino-video_201903285c9d443d0cf2de7721e98193.html","pathname":"lasexta.com"},{"text":"\u2018Marcos Hourmann: Yo salv\u00e9 a una persona cuando ya no hab\u00eda nada que hacer\u2019, La Marea, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.lamarea.com\/2019\/02\/15\/marcos-hourmann-yo-salve-a-una-persona-cuando-ya-no-habia-nada-que-hacer\/","pathname":"lamarea.com"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Documental y coloquio: La vida es un derecho, no una obligaci\u00f3n\u2019, Derecho a Morir Dignamente, 2020","link":"https:\/\/derechoamorir.org\/eventos\/documental-y-coloquio-la-vida-es-un-derecho-no-una-obligacion\/","pathname":"derechoamorir.org"},{"text":"\u2018Marcos Hourmann, m\u00e9dico, eutanasia \u2013 Celebrar\u00e9 mi muerte\u2019, Luto en Colores, 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1iFpsO9MYCE","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018Un juicio que la Justicia esquiv\u00f3 en su d\u00eda\u2019, Revista DMD n\u00ba 79, Derecho a Morir Dignamente, 2019","link":"https:\/\/derechoamorir.org\/2019\/06\/03\/revista-de-dmd-no-79\/","pathname":"derechoamorir.org"}]},{"title":"Legal and Paralegal citations","list":[{"text":"Alliance of UK Health Regulators in Europe (AURE), \u2018AURE Briefing \u2019, November 2010","link":"https:\/\/www.gmc-uk.org\/cdn\/documents\/aure---envi-briefing-on-patients-rights-directive-nov-2010_pdf-55107528.pdf","pathname":"gmc-uk.org"},{"text":"Audiencia Provincial de Tarragona, \u2018Sentencia Penal N\u00ba 110\/2009, Tribunal Jurado, Sec. 2, Rec 3\/2008, 25-03-2009\u2019, Iberley, 25 March 2009","link":"https:\/\/www.iberley.es\/jurisprudencia\/sentencia-penal-n-110-2009-ap-tarragona-tribunal-jurado-sec-2-rec-3-2008-25-03-2009-3235471","pathname":"iberley.es"}]}]}