First Colombian with non-terminal illness dies legally by euthanasia

Victor Escobar, 60, who suffered from an end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and became the first person in Colombia to undergo euthanasia for a non-terminal disease, sits on the sofa in his home in Cali, Colombia October 19, 2021. Picture taken October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Edwin Rodriguez Pipicano

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian Victor Escobar became the first person in the Andean country with a non-terminal illness to die by legally regulated euthanasia late on Friday, his lawyer Luis Giraldo confirmed.

Escobar, 60, suffered from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which causes greatly diminished quality of life, as well as a number of other conditions, Giraldo told Reuters.