MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former Argentine VP moots euthanasia bill

“I believe society is more mature to have this debate,” Cobos argued

Following the approval in Uruguay of the so-called Dignified Death Act (or Euthanasia Law), former Argentine Vice President Julio César Cleto Cobos, now a Radical Civic Union (UCR) Federal Congressman from the province of Mendoza, pushed a similar initiative across the pond.

Cobos presented a new bill aimed at enabling both euthanasia (a physician actively administering a lethal substance) and assisted suicide (a physician prescribing medication for the patient to self-administer), marking the third time he has advanced a similar proposal.

“The goal is to keep the discussion alive and ensure an initiative with parliamentary status over the next two years,” Cobos told Infobae. He confirmed that Uruguay's approval provided “an impetus to present it again.”

The proposal, which seeks to modify the Penal Code to exclude liability for participating medical professionals, establishes strict requirements for access: Applicants must be adults (18 years or older), Argentine citizens or legal residents for at least one year, who must suffer from a serious and incurable disease or an intolerable physical or psychological condition.

Patients must receive full information on all treatment options, including palliative care, and submit two separate requests with a minimum interval of 15 days, validated by witnesses and a notary or court. Consent can be revoked at any time.

The bill allows for conscientious objection by individual health professionals. However, both public and private health centers would have to guarantee the procedure if the patient meets the established criteria.

Cobos stressed that the law seeks “to provide a dignified solution to those going through terminal illnesses or chronic incapacitating suffering” and emphasized that it “does not oblige anyone to do anything.” His initiative is one of at least five similar projects currently before Congress, none of which have yet been brought up for a full vote.

Argentina's existing Law, dating back to 2012, allows patients to reject medical treatments that artificially prolong life. The current bills, however, seek to take the critical next step of enabling active medical intervention to end suffering.

“I believe society is more mature to have this debate,” Cobos concluded.