CNN’s Dario Klein speaks with a woman living with ALS who says she doesn’t want to suffer anymore and supports legalizing euthanasia in Uruguay.

Montevideo

Beatriz Gelós, a woman living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), attended a session of the Uruguayan parliament as lawmakers debated a proposed law to legalize euthanasia. Gelós, who has experienced a slow decline in her health and significant loss of mobility, expressed hope that the 'dignified death law' would be approved, citing her ongoing pain and suffering.

Her presence and personal testimony have become emblematic in the national debate, with lawmakers reading a letter she wrote describing her daily struggles. While the proposal faces opposition from groups such as the Uruguayan Catholic Church, Gelós emphasized that her advocacy is not only for herself but for others enduring incurable illnesses.

Woman with ALS hopes Uruguay is closer to legalizing euthanasia

This is not just another day for Beatriz Gelós. With the help of friends, she manages to reach the Uruguayan parliament, because she wants to witness a moment she has been waiting for, for years. She says the ribbon she wears is in favor of euthanasia. Gelós suffers from ALS. She says doctors predicted she would die from the neurodegenerative disease 15 years ago, but her decline was much slower than expected. I am worsening too slowly, she says, and I would like this to end. Slowly she lost mobility in almost her entire body, and can do almost nothing on her own. She has trouble breathing, and even sleeping. She is saying that she would like this to go faster, her life is like hell, and she is having a lot of pain in every position. That is why she says she is hopeful that the so-called dignified death law will be approved in Uruguay. She was there when the lawmakers passionately debated the law. It's about love, about humanity, about empathy. It's about people with very tough illnesses who are suffering. Do we want to be a society that offers death as a response to suffering? Almost unintentionally, she became a face of the debate. Behind euthanasia, there are real people, human faces who are here with us in the stands. Lawmakers read a letter out loud that she wrote them two years ago. My life would be more dignified if I could clean myself, write by hand, talk on the phone, scratch and itch, drink water when I'm thirsty, or take care of others. I don't know if, with my increasing difficulties, even with palliative care, day-to-day life will be bearable, which is why I want the peace of mind of knowing that I will be able to choose when the time comes whether it's worth continuing this ordeal or not. But her request is not just for her. Many other people suffer horrible sickness. I didn't know there were so many things that they had no cure. Among those who oppose the law is the Uruguayan Catholic Church. Jelós is a Catholic who sometimes, she says, believes in God. Sometimes, yes, sometimes she doesn't. She feels sometimes the presence of God. She has already earned her place in heaven, which all she has lived here. I ask her if she believes there is something else after death. I don't know, she says. Do you want that there is something? Yes, she nods.

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