Uruguay's senate passed a law decriminalizing euthanasia on Wednesday, putting the South American nation among a handful of other countries where seriously ill patients can legally obtain help to end their lives.

It makes Uruguay the first country in predominantly Catholic Latin America to allow euthanasia via legislation. Colombia and Ecuador have decriminalized the practice through Supreme Court decisions.

In Chile, left-wing President Gabriel Boric recently revived a push for the approval of an euthanasia bill long stalled in the Senate.

After two decades living with Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Beatriz Gelos was hoping Uruguay's Senate would finally pass a euthanasia bill on October 15, 2025, ending years of parliamentary back-and-forth and resistance. EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/Getty

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