Chronic Pain and the Euthanasia Request That Revolutionizes the Debate

Colombian Melisa Gaona formally requested euthanasia after years of surgeries, medication, and hospitalizations that failed to provide lasting relief from her pain. Living with severe endometriosis since childhood, the twenty‑six‑year‑old said her decision stemmed from a desire to stop suffering, summarizing her situation with the statement that she did not want to die, but rather to stop feeling pain.

The reality of endometriosis and delayed diagnosis

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows outside the uterus. The World Health Organization estimates that about 190 million women and girls of reproductive age live with the condition worldwide, roughly one in ten women.

Despite its prevalence, the path to diagnosis is long. Specialists cite an average interval of six to ten years between the first symptoms and a confirmed diagnosis. In Melisa’s case, the signs appeared in childhood, but a formal diagnosis was only made in 2024 after numerous misdiagnoses and doctors who downplayed her symptoms.

The impact of chronic pain on patients' lives

Chronic‑pain experts explain that the condition goes beyond a prolonged symptom and often becomes a disease in its own right. When pain persists for months, the nervous system reorganizes, amplifying signals and maintaining suffering even after the original cause has been treated.

Physicians note that expressing a wish for death frequently reflects a person who has lost functionality, autonomy, sleep, work, and hope. The invisibility of pain and the lack of empathy in health services exacerbate patients' isolation and anguish.

Regulation and limits of euthanasia

Colombia is one of the few countries that permits euthanasia and among the most advanced on the issue, having de‑criminalized the procedure in 1997. Local legislation requires that the patient endure intense, irreversible suffering with exhaustion of therapeutic alternatives.

Melisa’s request was denied by a medical board in 2025 on the grounds that further treatments were still available. Bioethics specialists stress that cases like this often reveal failures in health‑care access and gaps in public policy, not merely a debate about the right to die.

The situation in Brazil and the search for answers

In Brazil, euthanasia and assisted suicide are prohibited. The topic gained attention with the death of poet Antônio Cícero, a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, who traveled to Switzerland to receive assisted dying after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Cases such as Melisa’s and Antônio Cícero’s converge on a central question: what do health systems and society offer to those who suffer before death becomes the only perceived option?

With information from BBC.