Right to die with dignity and personal autonomy in Latin America: comparative constitutional analysis of the Peruvian case

Negro-Balarezo J.C. · Clio. Revista de Historia, Ciencias Humanas y Pensamiento Critico. (2026) · DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20799011

Resumen

This article argues that the jurisprudential recognition of the right to die with dignity in Peru constitutes an implicit manifestation of the right to free personal development and human dignity, whose absence of legislative regulation creates a situation of legal uncertainty incompatible with the constitutional rule of law. Through a qualitative, hermeneutical, and comparative legal-dogmatic methodology, the constitutional, bioethical, and jurisprudential framework of end-of-life decisions is examined, with emphasis on the Peruvian case and the experiences of Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador. A critical analysis of the collision between the right to life and personal autonomy is developed, the Ana Estrada Ugarte case is examined as a constitutional precedent of diffuse control, and the framework of the Inter-American Human Rights System is incorporated. The article concludes that the protection of life cannot be interpreted in absolute terms in situations of extreme and irreversible suffering, and that building a comprehensive regulatory framework in Peru is an unavoidable constitutional imperative.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de Piura