{"status":"success","siteTitle":"Assisted Lab\nLiving Archive of Assisted Dying","title":"Video plea by Valentina Maureira","slug":"video-plea","url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/visual\/video-plea","body":"<p>On Sunday, 22 February 2015, Valentina Maureira Riquelme, a Chilean teenager known as Valentina Maureira, self-recorded a short video with her smartphone. In the video, Valentina\u2019s long hair covers most of her orange top, but not her shoulders and upper arms, which look emaciated; her nasal cannula and the machines visible on the background indicate she is speaking from a hospital bed, which has linen with a sea-animal motif. Valentina directly addresses us through the camera and says only three sentences in the recording: \u2018My name is Valentina Maureira, I am 14 years old, and I suffer from cystic fibrosis. I request to speak urgently to the president because I\u2019m tired of living with this illness, and she can authorize the injection that will allow me to sleep forever. My older brother, Mike, already died of the same disease\u2019 (translated from the Spanish, as all other quotes). Without the knowledge of her family, Valentina uploaded the video to her <em>Facebook<\/em> page, from where it was copied into <em>YouTube<\/em>, quickly going viral. She had been admitted to the Clinical Hospital of the Catholic University in Santiago on 30 January 2015, due to severe malnutrition and respiratory complications resulting from cystic fibrosis \u2013 a genetic disorder that has no known cure and affects the lungs and the digestive system. In the case of Valentina, who was diagnosed when she was 6 months old, besides difficulty to breathe, the illness caused vomiting and constant headaches. Valentina remained hospitalized at the same facility through February 2015, when she recorded her video, and up until her passing, on 14 May 2015. Between February and May, her plea reached the president, was shared around the world, and prompted the Chilean civil society and parliament to debate the right to die. While the original post is no longer accessible, many copies of the video remain online, including on the <em>YouTube<\/em> account of Valentina\u2019s father, Fredy Maureira Godoy, known as Fredy Maureira, an advocate for organ donation and self-determination who became involved in efforts to legalize euthanasia in Chile.<\/p><p>Though extraordinary in content, Valentina\u2019s video has a framing typical of a cell-phone self-recording: a high-angled and slightly tilted medium-closeup, in portrait orientation (which would become associated with <em>TikTok<\/em>). This intimate framing of a selfie, together with the short runtime \u2013 only 24 seconds \u2013 makes the format match the controversial content in its viral capacity. The floodlit hospital setting and the reported fact that Valentina recorded the video alone lend authenticity to the message, helping to dismiss hesitations social-media users might have before resharing the video. Valentina\u2019s father told <em>BBC Mundo<\/em> he had an old flip phone, so he only realized Valentina had posted a video when journalists and politicians started to call him for comment; Fredy emphasized he respected his daughter\u2019s wishes, because \u2018she knows this disease better than anyone\u2019. The reach of Valentina\u2019s plea grew exponentially: by February 26, it was being amplified by the Chilean press and picked up by other Latin-American news sources, including the Paraguayan <em>Telefuturo<\/em>, the Mexican <em>Sopitas<\/em>, and the Argentinian <em>Diario de Cuyo<\/em>. Still on the 26th, the Chilean government reacted to the video, with presidential spokesperson \u00c1lvaro Elizalde declaring \u2018it\u2019s impossible not to be deeply moved\u2019, because \u2018we\u2019re talking about a minor who has made a heartbreaking request\u2019, even if \u2018current Chilean law doesn\u2019t allow the government to grant a request of this nature\u2019. Elizalde confirmed that the Ministry of Health would provide Valentina and her family \u2018with all the psychological and emotional support, as well as any medical treatment needed to improve her quality of life\u2019. By February 27, the international anglophone press was covering the story. On the 28th, President Michelle Bachelet, who trained as a paediatrician, delayed a scheduled public appearance to see Valentina in an unannounced visit. Accompanied by Health Minister Carmen Castillo, the president talked to Valentina for 70 min, and photos of their meeting were widely shared. <em>El Confidencial<\/em> reported that Valentina asked the president to collaborate on a book and a film about her life, and Bachelet gifted her a recorder to document ideas for those projects. According to <em>BBC Mundo<\/em>, Valentina was surprised by the thousands of \u2018likes\u2019 her video received, which pleased her \u2013 as she added \u2013 \u2018because it motivates people\u2019. The vertiginous transformation of Valentina\u2019s post into a public forum would, in 2021, be echoed by a <em>Twitter<\/em> thread of Florencia Salgueiro, which catalysed Uruguay\u2019s euthanasia reform (see related <em>Assisted Lab<\/em> entry).<\/p><p>One month after posting her video, Valentina told <em>El Mercurio<\/em> that \u2018there are people who have led me to change my way of thinking\u2019. This triggered another news cycle, with headlines such as \u2018The Chilean girl who requested euthanasia is now reconsidering her decision\u2019 (<em>Clar\u00edn<\/em>) and \u2018The teenager who asked Michelle Bachelet for euthanasia wants to live\u2019 (<em>El Confidencial<\/em>). Fredy Maureira explained that his daughter was moved by a visit from Maribel Oviedo and her father Ernesto, from Argentina: Maribel, who had received a lung transplant and was living with cystic fibrosis into her 20s, gave Valentina hope. This new round of reporting revealed that Valentina\u2019s plea for euthanasia had been inspired by 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, who had shared a viral video in 2014 to communicate her decision to seek an assisted suicide if medical care failed to prevent her suffering from a terminal brain cancer (see related <em>Assisted Lab<\/em> entry). As soon as Valentina\u2019s change of mind was divulged, interest groups for and against euthanasia accused each other of manipulating her story for their own purposes. The US-based anti-euthanasia group <em>National Right to Life<\/em> cited Valentina\u2019s supposed about-face as evidence of successful persuasion to live, in spite of the alleged influence of Maynard\u2019s video. <em>Christianity Today<\/em> included Valentina\u2019s story as a sermon illustration against suicide, and the Catholic news agency <em>ACIPrensa<\/em> accused \u2018some parliamentarians like Guido Girardi of [having] sought to take Valentina\u2019s story to once again propose a euthanasia law in Chile\u2019. Indeed, even though Girardi had spearheaded failed efforts to decriminalize euthanasia in the early 2000s, only after Valentina\u2019s shared her video did the movement for the right to die gain traction. One such bill, promoted by the Boric left-wing government, cleared the House of Representatives in 2021 and was approved by the Senate Health Committee in 2025 \u2014 and the parliamentary proceedings include multiple citations of Valentina\u2019s case. However, this legislative effort stalled when Kast began his right-wing presidency in 2026, promising to veto the law. Even if passed, the bill would not have granted someone like Valentina the right to die, since she was not an adult at the time of her plea and her condition may not have been considered acutely terminal, as the proposed law requires. Chile\u2019s 2012 law no. 20.584 gives patients the right to refuse medical treatment, but the 1874 Chilean penal code still implicitly classifies euthanasia as homicide (article 391) and explicitly criminalizes assisted suicide (article 393).<\/p>","cover":{"ratio":1.0264180264180265,"url":"https:\/\/assistedlab.ch\/media\/pages\/visual\/video-plea\/d3839f2c1c-1785293945\/killian-2022-generative_branch_growth_pattern-2410x-q90.jpg","caption":"Garry Killian, \u2018Generative branch-growth pattern\u2019, 2022"},"data":[{"title":"Title","value":"Video plea by Valentina Maureira"},{"title":"Author","value":"Valentina Maureira"},{"title":"Year","value":"2015"},{"title":"Language","value":"Spanish"},{"title":"Tags","value":"High Profile Cases \u2022 Lack of Regulation \u2022 Existential Suffering \u2022 Social Media"},{"title":"Legislative context","value":"Law n. 20.584, regulating a person\u2019s healthcare rights and duties (including the right to refuse treatment), 24 April 2012 (Chile) \u2022 Article 393 of the Penal Code criminalizing assisted suicide, 1874 (Chile)"},{"title":"Author of entry","value":"Carlos A. Pittella"},{"title":"First published","value":"29.07.2026"},{"title":"Last updated","value":"29.07.2026"}],"toggles":[{"title":"Reviews","list":[{"text":"Constanza Hola Chamy, \u2018Chile: la ni\u00f1a que le pidi\u00f3 a Bachelet dormirla para siempre\u2019, BBC News Mundo, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/mundo\/noticias\/2015\/02\/150226_valentina_maureira_eutanasia_chile_bachelet_ch","pathname":"bbc.com"},{"text":"\u2018El dram\u00e1tico pedido de una joven chilena\u2019, CNN Espa\u00f1ol, 2015","link":"https:\/\/cnnespanol.cnn.com\/video\/cnnee-chile-mansilla-teen-with-cystic-fibrosis-wants-euthanasia","pathname":"cnnespanol.cnn.com"},{"text":"\u2018Tonight on La Noche, the moving case of Valentina Maureira, the Chilean girl who asks for euthanasia\u2019, La Noche \u2013 YouTube, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TU_YVV4XCwA","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018Chilean girl\u2019s euthanasia plea\u2019, BBC News, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/av\/world-latin-america-31648646","pathname":"bbc.com"}]},{"title":"Media citations","list":[{"text":"\u2018La adolescente que solicit\u00f3 la eutanasia a Michelle Bachelet quiere seguir con vida\u2019, El Confidencial, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.elconfidencial.com\/sociedad\/2015-03-23\/valentina-maureira-bachelet-eutanasia-vida_733155\/","pathname":"elconfidencial.com"},{"text":"\u2018La chica chilena que pidi\u00f3 la eutanasia ahora se replantea su decisi\u00f3n\u2019, Clar\u00edn, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.clarin.com\/sociedad\/valentina_maureira-bachelet-chile-eutanasia-fibrosis_quistica_0_Skt26ZqDXe.html","pathname":"clarin.com"},{"text":"\u2018La familia Oviedo hizo cambiar de opini\u00f3n a la joven chilena con fibrosis qu\u00edstica\u2019, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.lavoz.com.ar\/ciudadanos\/la-familia-oviedo-hizo-cambiar-de-opinion-a-la-joven-chilena-con-fibrosis-quistica_0_spFl0RUVeZ.html","pathname":"lavoz.com.ar"},{"text":"\u2018Ni\u00f1a que pidi\u00f3 eutanasia a Bachelet cambia de opini\u00f3n: Es una decisi\u00f3n dif\u00edcil\u2019, 24 Horas, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.24horas.cl\/nacional\/nina-que-pidio-eutanasia-a-bachelet-cambia-de-opinion-es-una-decision-dificil-1614599","pathname":"24horas.cl"},{"text":"Lulu Garcia-Navarro, \u2018Euthanasia is illegal in Chile; young patient wants right to die\u2019, NPR, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2015\/03\/02\/390119307\/euthanasia-is-illegal-in-chile-young-patient-wants-right-to-die","pathname":"npr.org"},{"text":"\u2018Presidenta Bachelet se re\u00fane con Valentina Maureira\u2019, BioBioChile, 2015","link":"http:\/\/www.biobiochile.cl\/noticias\/2015\/02\/28\/presidenta-bachelet-se-reune-con-valentina-maureira.shtml","pathname":"biobiochile.cl"},{"text":"\u2018Chile\u2019s President overcome by Emotion after Ill Girl, 14, Makes Euthanasia Plea\u2019, The Guardian, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2015\/feb\/27\/chiles-president-overcome-by-emotion-after-ill-girl-14-makes-euthanasia-plea","pathname":"theguardian.com"},{"text":"\u2018Chilean 14-year-old with cystic fibrosis asks to be allowed to die\u2019, TIME, 2015","link":"https:\/\/time.com\/3724216\/cystic-fibrosis-chile\/","pathname":"time.com"},{"text":"\u2018Gobierno respondi\u00f3 a ni\u00f1a que pidi\u00f3 a Bachelet autorizaci\u00f3n para eutanasia\u2019, Cooperativa, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.cooperativa.cl\/noticias\/pais\/salud\/eutanasia\/gobierno-respondio-a-nina-que-pidio-a-bachelet-autorizacion-para\/2015-02-26\/134458.html","pathname":"cooperativa.cl"},{"text":"\u2018Una ni\u00f1a ruega morir\u2019, Diario de Cuyo, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.diariodecuyo.com.ar\/mundo\/Una-nina-ruega-morir-20150226-0028.html","pathname":"diariodecuyo.com.ar"},{"text":"\u2018La triste petici\u00f3n de una jovencita chilena a su presidenta\u2019, Sopitas, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.sopitas.com\/noticias\/la-triste-peticion-de-una-jovencita-chilena-a-su-presidenta\/","pathname":"sopitas.com"},{"text":"\u2018Eutanasia: Ni\u00f1a le pide morir a la Presidenta Bachelet\u2019, Telefuturo \u2013 YouTube, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_-sa4jFvesM","pathname":"youtube.com"},{"text":"\u2018La historia de Valentina Maureira y por qu\u00e9 en Chile no se pueden realizar eutanasias\u2019, T13, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.t13.cl\/noticia\/actualidad\/politica\/la-historia-de-valentina-maureira-y-por-que-en-chile-no-se-pueden-realizar-eutanasias","pathname":"t13.cl"}]},{"title":"Interest Group citations","list":[{"text":"Camila Musante (independent candidate on the PPD ticket), \u2018Muerte Digna y Consciencia por la donaci\u00f3n de \u00f3rganos\u2026\u2019 Instagram, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/camila_musante\/reel\/DGoGd5PubWU\/","pathname":"instagram.com"},{"text":"\u201814-Year-Old Decides Against Assisted Suicide\u2019, CT Pastors, 2017","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/14-year-old-decides-against-assisted-suicide\/","pathname":"christianitytoday.com"},{"text":"Albert Royes (editor), \u2018Morir en Libertad\u2019, Observatorio de Bio\u00e9tica y Derecho, de la Universidad de Barcelona, 2016","link":"https:\/\/www.bioeticayderecho.ub.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/libro-morir-en-libertad.pdf","pathname":"bioeticayderecho.ub.edu"},{"text":"\u2018Falleci\u00f3 Valentina, la adolescente que inspir\u00f3 a millones con su lucha por la vida\u2019, Agencia Cat\u00f3lica de Informaciones (ACI), 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.aciprensa.com\/noticias\/55528\/fallecio-valentina-la-adolescente-que-inspiro-a-millones-con-su-lucha-por-la-vida","pathname":"aciprensa.com"},{"text":"\u2018Outpouring of encouraging persuades Chilean teen to reconsider request for euthanasia\u2019, National Right to Life, 2015","link":"https:\/\/nrlc.org\/nrlnewstoday\/2015\/03\/outpouring-of-encouraging-persuades-chilean-teen-to-reconsider-request-for-euthanasia\/","pathname":"nrlc.org"},{"text":"\u2018Euthanasia Supporters in Chile Accused of Exploiting Sick Teen\u2019, EWTN News, 2015","link":"https:\/\/www.ewtnnews.com\/world\/americas\/euthanasia-supporters-in-chile-accused-of-exploiting-sick-teen","pathname":"ewtnnews.com"}]},{"title":"Legal and Paralegal citations","list":[{"text":"Senado de la Rep\u00fablica de Chile, \u2018Primer informe de la Comisi\u00f3n de Salud sobre muerte digna y cuidados paliativos \u2013 Segundo tr\u00e1mite constitucional\u2019 (Boletines nos. 7.736-11, 9.644-11, 11.577-11, & 11.745-11), pp. 4, 29, & 49\u201351, 7 October 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.camara.cl\/verDoc.aspx?prmID=27537&prmTIPO=INFORMEPLEY","pathname":"camara.cl"},{"text":"Senadora Ximena \u00d3rdenes & Asesor Pablo Flores (Comisi\u00f3n de Salud \u2013 Santiago), \u2018En varios\u2019, p. 10, 8 September 2025","link":"https:\/\/microservicio-documentos.senado.cl\/v1\/archivos\/1e74bdf6-1eb5-4220-a9f2-75a5cbcea926?includeContent=true","pathname":"microservicio-documentos.senado.cl"},{"text":"Ares Becerra et al., \u2018Lograr la legalizaci\u00f3n de la eutanasia en el pa\u00eds de chile, con el fin de una muerte digna\u2019, Torneo Delibera 2025, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 2025","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/delibera\/show_iniciativa?id_colegio=5678&idnac=2&patro=0&nro_torneo=2025","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"C\u00e1mara de Diputados, \u2018Sesi\u00f3n 68, Ordinaria\u2019, p. 80, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 17 August 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/obtienearchivo?id=recursoslegales\/10221.3\/65264\/1\/C20210817_68.pdf","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"C\u00e1mara de Diputados. \u2018Sesi\u00f3n 19, Especial\u2019, p. 27, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 15 April 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/obtienearchivo?id=recursoslegales\/10221.3\/64635\/1\/C20210415_19.pdf","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"C\u00e1mara de Diputados, \u2018Sesi\u00f3n 17, Ordinaria\u2019, pp. 33 & 51, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 14 April 2021","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/obtienearchivo?id=recursoslegales\/10221.3\/64633\/1\/C20210414_17.pdf","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"C\u00e1mara de Diputados,  \u2018Sesi\u00f3n 116, Especial\u2019, pp. 59 & 70, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 17 December 2020","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/obtienearchivo?id=recursoslegales\/10221.3\/63987\/1\/C20201217_116.pdf","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"Senado, \u2018Sesi\u00f3n 87, Ordinaria\u2019, pp. 12458 & 12557\u201358, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 18 December 2019","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/obtienearchivo?id=recursoslegales\/10221.3\/61328\/6\/S20191218_87.pdf","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"C\u00e1mara de Diputados, \u2018Primer informe de comisi\u00f3n de Salud sobre muerte digna y cuidados paliativos \u2013 Primer tr\u00e1mite constitucional\u2019 (Boletines nos. 7.736-11, 9.644-11, 11.577-11, & 11.745-11), p. 8, 13 September 2019 [Direct document download link]","link":"https:\/\/www.camara.cl\/verDoc.aspx?prmID=21702&prmTIPO=INFORMEPLEY","pathname":"camara.cl"},{"text":"G\u00e9nesis Luzmira Seguel Hueche et al., \u2018Proyecto de ley que legaliza la Eutanasia en Chile\u2019, Torneo Delibera 201, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile, 2018","link":"https:\/\/www.bcn.cl\/delibera\/show_iniciativa?id_colegio=2518&idnac=2&patro=0&nro_torneo=201","pathname":"bcn.cl"},{"text":"Ministerio Secretaria General de la Presidencia \u2013 Divisi\u00f3n de Relaciones Pol\u00edticas e Institucionales, \u2018Informe Semanal de Actividad Legislativa\u2019 (ISAL), no. 8, p. 31, 18 May 2018","link":"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20221029180333\/https:\/\/www.minsegpres.gob.cl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/ISAL-N08-del-14-al-18-de-mayo-de-2018.pdf","pathname":"web.archive.org"}]}]}