{"status":"success","siteTitle":"Assisted Lab\nLiving Archive of Assisted Dying","title":"Noticias Caracol interview with Martha Sep\u00falveda","slug":"noticias-caracol-interview","url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/visual\/noticias-caracol-interview","body":"<p>On October 3, 2021, <em>Noticias Caracol<\/em> aired a TV interview with 51-year-old Martha Liria Sep\u00falveda Campo, a Colombian woman commonly known as Martha Sep\u00falveda. Produced by the free-to-air Caracol Televisi\u00f3n network, the news program was presented as a 10-minute special report, with the title \u2018La eutanasia de una mujer de fe\u2019 (The euthanasia of a woman of faith) followed by a quote from Sep\u00falveda: \u2018Dios no me quiere ver sufrir a m\u00ed\u2019 (God doesn\u2019t want me to suffer). With a legal euthanasia scheduled for the following week, Sep\u00falveda was about to become the first patient with a non-terminal diagnosis to access that procedure in Colombia. A voice-over that punctuates the interview explains that, though she may not appear ill, Sep\u00falveda suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a chronic degenerative disease that impacts the nervous system and leads to muscle deterioration; for her, ALS became unbearable in 2020, when her legs stopped responding. The TV segment shows Sep\u00falveda unworried \u2013 eating pork rinds and fried plantain, drinking beer, and laughing with her son Federico. Asked by the interviewer Juan David Laverde about maintaining her positive attitude, she says, \u2018I\u2019m calmer since they authorized the procedure: I laugh more, sleep more peacefully\u2019 (translated from the Spanish, as the other quotes). Sep\u00falveda does not see any contradiction between her decision and her religion, as she explains: \u2018From a spiritual perspective, I\u2019m completely at peace. I\u2019m Catholic, I consider myself a firm believer in God, but \u2013 I repeat \u2013 God doesn\u2019t want to see me, or anyone else, suffer. No parent wants to see their children suffer\u2019. The interview moves from restaurant to mall, where we see Sep\u00falveda being pushed in a wheelchair, then to her house, where she climbs the stairs with difficulty, holding on to her son. Laverde returns to Sep\u00falveda\u2019s house the following day, where they talk over coffee. As they look at family albums, the interviewer asks: \u2018But you go without regrets?\u2019 \u2018Absolutely\u2019, she says. \u2018How does one achieve that spiritual tranquillity?\u2019, Laverde insists. Sep\u00falveda answers: \u2018I think it\u2019s God who strengthens me at all times\u2019.<\/p><p>Before the TV interview aired, Sep\u00falveda thought herself lucky, aided by bureaucratic tailwinds: on July 23, 2021, the Colombian Constitutional Court had expanded the right to die to non-terminal patients; four days later, Sep\u00falveda filed a request with her health insurance provider, which was speedily accepted on August 6, and she scheduled her assisted death for October 10. In Colombia, the judiciary has led the right-to-die reforms since 1997, when the Constitutional Court decriminalized euthanasia and urged Congress to regulate it. Because a law has not yet passed, assisted dying has been de facto regulated since 2015 via a patchwork of judicial sentences and executive protocols. When the interview with Sep\u00falveda went viral in 2021, the conservative backlash was swift: in three days, the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (CEC) publicly urged Sep\u00falveda to reconsider her decision, and the Bishop of Riohacha (and president of CEC\u2019s Commission for the Promotion and Defence of Life) accused <em>Noticias Caracol<\/em> of making propaganda for euthanasia. Then, on October 8, the Colombian Institute of Pain (Incodol), which had previously approved Sep\u00falveda\u2019s assisted-death request, cancelled the procedure 36h before it was scheduled to take place; their communiqu\u00e9 mentioned that, having watched Sep\u00falveda\u2019s interview, they had concluded that her medical condition no longer justified the procedure (they did not explain what exactly in the TV segment had caused their about-face). The Peruvian psychologist and right-do-die advocate Ana Estrada reacted to the authorities\u2019 change of heart, saying that, \u2018when a person talks about death or euthanasia, many feel the need to see that person suffering\u2019; so, as Estrada explains, one may find unbearable to see Sep\u00falveda serene, talking about death with ease. Camilla Jaramillo Salazar, one of the DescLAB lawyers representing Sep\u00falveda, highlighted the irregularity of reevaluating the case based solely on TV images. In October, a Medell\u00edn Judge ordered that the healthcare provider reinstate the procedure, which eventually happened on February 8, 2022. In her last interview, given to her lawyer Lucas Correa, Sep\u00falveda reiterated her convictions, stating she never saw a contradiction between a dignified death and her faith in God.<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.496742671009771985524139381595887243747711181640625,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/visual\/noticias-caracol-interview\/2a81d22319-1749790337\/sepulveda-20220122-eespectador-ncaracol-2410x-q90.jpg","caption":"Martha Sep\u00falveda, Family archive, Noticias Caracol \/ El Espectador, 26 Jan. 2022"},"toggles":[{"title":"Suggested citation","list":[{"text":"Noticias Caracol interview with Martha Sep\u00falveda, Assisted Lab\u2019s Living Archive of Assisted Dying, 13 June 2025 ","link":null,"pathname":null}]},{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"Pamela Subizar, \u2018Celebr\u00f3 su muerte, pero se la negaron a \u00faltimo momento: qu\u00e9 pas\u00f3 con Martha Sep\u00falveda y la eutanasia que no fue\u2019, Noticias Telemundo, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.telemundo.com\/noticias\/noticias-telemundo\/salud\/que-paso-con-martha-sepulveda-y-la-eutanasia-que-no-fue-rcna3089","pathname":"telemundo.com"},{"text":"Catalina Oquendo, \u2018La eutanasia cancelada de Martha Sep\u00falveda: cuando tu decisi\u00f3n de morir se convierte en debate nacional\u2019, El Pa\u00eds, 2021","link":"https:\/\/elpais.com\/internacional\/2021-10-16\/la-eutanasia-cancelada-que-sacudio-a-colombia.html","pathname":"elpais.com"},{"text":"Enrique Lim\u00f3n, \u2018Death, interrupted: Martha Sep\u00falveda will no longer be Colombia\u2019s first non-terminal patient to die from euthanasia\u2019, The Independent, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/martha-sepulveda-euthanasia-colombia-b1935708.html","pathname":"independent.co.uk"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Corte Constitucional insiste en que Congreso debe regular eutanasia\u2019, El Colombiano, 2023","link":"https:\/\/www.elcolombiano.com\/colombia\/la-corte-insiste-en-que-el-congreso-debe-regular-eutanasia-AG22173416","pathname":"elcolombiano.com"},{"text":"Juan David Laverde Palma, \u2018Uno aqu\u00ed vino a ser feliz hasta donde se pueda: Martha Sep\u00falveda\u2019, El Espectador, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.elespectador.com\/judicial\/la-ultima-entrevista-de-martha-sepulveda-antes-de-recibir-la-eutanasia\/","pathname":"elespectador.com"},{"text":"\u2018This woman wanted to die before her illness killed her. She finally got her wish\u2019, NBC News \/ Noticias Telemundo, 2022","link":"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/latino\/woman-wanted-die-illness-killed-finally-got-wish-rcna11672","pathname":"nbcnews.com"},{"text":"\u2018Martha, Ana y Alicia: El Derecho a Una Muerte Digna En Latinoam\u00e9rica,\u2019 El hilo, 2021","link":"https:\/\/elhilo.audio\/podcast\/eutanasia\/","pathname":"elhilo.audio"},{"text":"\u2018Cancelan a Martha el derecho a morir dignamente\u2019, Azteca Noticias, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Xj6dmt7hNSY","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018Cancelar procedimiento de eutanasia de Martha Sep\u00falveda fue ilegal: DescLAB, Infobae, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.infobae.com\/america\/colombia\/2021\/10\/10\/cancelar-procedimiento-de-eutanasia-de-martha-sepulveda-fue-ilegal-desclab\/","pathname":"infobae.com"},{"text":"\u2018She\u2019s 51, a mother and a devout Catholic. She plans to die by euthanasia on Sunday\u2019, The Washington Post, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2021\/10\/08\/colombia-euthanasia-martha-sepulveda\/","pathname":"washingtonpost.com"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018Revista de prensa internacional de agosto de 2023\u2019, Asociaci\u00f3n Federal Derecho a Morir Dignamente (DMD), 2023","link":"https:\/\/derechoamorir.org\/2023\/09\/20\/revista-de-prensa-internacional-de-agosto-de-2023\/","pathname":"derechoamorir.org"},{"text":"Lucas Correa, \u2018Por qu\u00e9 es una buena idea hablar de la muerte digna en los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n\u2019, DescLAB, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.desclab.com\/post\/medios","pathname":"desclab.com"},{"text":"Camila Jaramillo Salazar, \u2018El Caso de Martha Sep\u00falveda \u00bfQu\u00e9 Pas\u00f3 y C\u00f3mo Lo Resolvimos?\u2019, DescLAB, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.desclab.com\/post\/casomartha","pathname":"desclab.com"},{"text":"\u2018ATENCI\u00d3N | La Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia, anima a Martha Liria Sep\u00falveda\u2026\u2019, Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia, Twitter, 6 October 2021","link":"https:\/\/x.com\/episcopadocol\/status\/1445791614828429312","pathname":"x.com"},{"text":"\u2018Comunicado a la Opini\u00f3n P\u00fablica a prop\u00f3sito del caso de la Sra. Martha Liria Sep\u00falveda Campo\u2019, Arquidi\u00f3cesis de Barranquilla, Facebook, 6 October 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ArquidiocesisdeBarranquilla\/videos\/211439381054165\/","pathname":"facebook.com"}]},{"title":"Legal and Paralegal citations","list":[{"text":"Colombian Constitutional Court sentence demanding the Health System follow constitutional precedent (No. T-239\/23), Sala Segunda de Revisi\u00f3n de la Corte Constitucional, 4 July 2023","link":"https:\/\/www.corteconstitucional.gov.co\/relatoria\/2023\/t-239-23.htm","pathname":"corteconstitucional.gov.co"},{"text":"Diputado Nazario Norberto S\u00e1nchez, Proposed draft decree to decriminalize euthanasia in Mexico City, by amending Article 6 of the its Political Constitution and Article 127 of its Penal Code, Congreso de la Ciudad de M\u00e9xico, II Legislatura, 12 October 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.congresocdmx.gob.mx\/media\/documentos\/c8398cd850ce110a5e17fcafa48e9784f3a7fbb5.pdf","pathname":"congresocdmx.gob.mx"},{"text":"Communiqu\u00e9 cancelling the euthanasia of Martha Sep\u00falveda (Comunicado), Instituto Colombiano del Dolor S.A.S., 9 October 2021. Reproduced in Noticias Caracol, \u2018IPS Incodol cancel\u00f3 a \u00faltima hora eutanasia programada para Martha Liria Sep\u00falveda el 10 de octubre\u2019, 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.noticiascaracol.com\/colombia\/ips-incodol-cancelo-a-ultima-hora-eutanasia-programada-para-martha-liria-sepulveda-el-10-de-octubre","pathname":"noticiascaracol.com"},{"text":"Colombian Constitutional Court sentence extending the decriminalization of euthanasia to non-terminal patients (No. C-233\/21), Sala Plena de la Corte Constitucional, 22 July 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.corteconstitucional.gov.co\/relatoria\/2021\/c-233-21.htm","pathname":"corteconstitucional.gov.co"}]}]}