Chileans react ahead of euthanasia vote

Chile's Chamber of Deputies is due to vote on a euthanasia bill on Tuesday, something that Cecilia Heyder welcomes.

Heyder, a Chilean activist for the right to a dignified death and who suffers from metastatic cancer, lupus and a blood disorder, says she hopes that lawmakers will approve legislation that allows euthanasia for people with serious and irremediable illnesses.

If the bill passes, it will head to the Senate.

"I want a good death. I want to be sedated," she said during a recent interview with The Associated Press at a park in Santiago.

Heyder, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, says she doesn't even know what part of her body the cancer has metastasized.

"I don't know where because I refuse to have cancer studies done," she said. "I'm never going to step at the doors of the cancer hospital again."

Due to her blood condition, any cut, bruise or hemorrhage can kill her. In addition, she lives in constant pain. She also has to move about with two catheters: one for blood transfusion and the other for morphine.

Rosario Corvalan from the anti-euthanasia "Community and Justice" group said they were against the bill "because human dignity is inherent in all people. It is not lost through suffering or disease."

Euthanasia — when a doctor directly administers fatal drugs to a patient — is either legal or sanctioned by courts in Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Colombia, and the Netherlands.

In Switzerland and some U.S. states, medically assisted suicide — when patients self-administer lethal drugs under medical supervision — is permitted.