Mexico City citizen initiative to legalize euthanasia reaches 20,000 signatures, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): The citizen initiative seeking to legalize euthanasia in Mexico City has reached 20,000 supporting signatures, giving its promoters the support needed to bring the proposal before the capital’s Congress.
The Asociación Libertad para Morir confirmed that it reached this figure on Wednesday, November 4, nearly a month before the deadline for collecting signatures. The organization will continue gathering support to build an additional margin in case some records are invalidated during review by the National Electoral Institute (INE).
The association is led by Asunción Álvarez, a doctor of sciences in bioethics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), who has organized lectures, informational activities and signature drives with other members to promote legislative change.
Among those supporting the initiative is Eduardo Sacristán, 69, who lives with primary lateral sclerosis, a neurological disease that causes progressive deterioration of motor functions and can make walking, eating and breathing difficult. Sacristán said his condition is not terminal but can advance to a considerable loss of autonomy, and he believes people with serious illnesses or irreversible conditions should be able to decide about the end of their lives.
Sacristán became interested in the topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he researched death with dignity and medical assistance in dying. He later met members of the Asociación Libertad para Morir and joined its promotional activities.
The proposal would establish legal mechanisms allowing people to request medical assistance in dying under certain conditions, with clinical criteria and procedures designed to ensure the decision is free and voluntary.
According to the promoters, the signatures collected represent approximately 0.25 percent of the capital’s electoral roll, the percentage needed for the initiative to be presented as a priority and discussed by legislators.
The association plans to deliver the citizen support to the INE during December 2026 so the authority can verify its authenticity and determine which signatures meet legal requirements.
Once the review is complete, the promoters intend to formally present the proposal to the Mexico City Congress, tentatively on February 1, 2027, when the next ordinary session period begins.
Legislative discussion will need to address the medical conditions for accessing euthanasia, authorization procedures, safeguards to protect applicants’ will, and the role of healthcare personnel.
With the citizen support reached, the initiative opens a new chapter in the debate over personal autonomy, the right to decide about the end of life, and the regulation of death with dignity in Mexico.
