Eutanasia en Ecuador: el médico entre el derecho y el delito – análisis de su responsabilidad jurídica en el vacío normativo. Análisis de la sentencia N.º 67-23-IN/24

Abstract

The Constitutional Court of Ecuador, through Ruling No. 67-23-IN/24, has set a landmark precedent in criminal law by legally recognizing the possibility of accessing euthanasia under exceptional conditions of intolerable suffering and strict state control. This study aims to analyze the impact of the conditional constitutionality of euthanasia in Ecuador on the principle of criminal typicity, assessing its compatibility with the Organic Comprehensive Criminal Code and its implications for the legal certainty of medical professionals. Form a dogmatic perspective, the research examines the tension between the right to die with dignity and the legal configuration of the crime of homicide as defined in Article 144 of the COIP. The analysis is structured into two chapters: The first addresses the constitutional foundations of the right to die with dignity; the second explores the criminal implications arising from the partial decriminalization of euthanasia, particularly concerning the aforementioned article. The study concludes that, given the evident discrepancy between the current legal text and the new constitutional precedent, it is imperative to promote a normative reform that restores coherence between criminal typicity, human dignity, and the principle of legal certainty.