Salto's Plaza 33 was the scene of speeches against the euthanasia law. Doctors, legislators, and social representatives called for prioritizing life and universalizing palliative care, warning of negative experiences in other countries.
On an afternoon filled with emotion and social debate, Salto's Plaza 33 became the scene of one of the most resounding mobilizations in recent times in the city. Following the march called by organizations and residents who reject the approval of the euthanasia law, legislator Natalia Piguina took the microphone and addressed those gathered, still holding signs and chanting "life and dignity for all."
Piguina, visibly moved, began her remarks by reminding everyone that "every life matters, even—and especially—when it goes through moments of greatest fragility." She emphasized that the way forward, in her view, does not lie in legalizing euthanasia but rather in strengthening access to quality palliative care, with a current state and adequate resources.
“Today we raise our voices in defense of life, dignity, and the rights that are already recognized, but which the state often fails to properly uphold,” he said, looking directly at the people who watched attentively from the cobblestones. “We cannot allow death to be proposed as a solution when we haven't even guaranteed that people can live with dignity until the very last moment.”
The legislator also appealed to the responsibility of her colleagues in parliament, emphasizing that the bill is not just another one on the legislative agenda. "It's not just any vote in your hands: today you have the most serious and irreversible decision in existence: the life or death of a human being," she warned.
Beyond the conflicting opinions surrounding the issue, the march made it clear that the debate on euthanasia in Uruguay will continue to gain ground on the streets, in homes, and, of course, in parliament.
On the other hand, and in a tone just as firm as that of legislator Piguina, the representative of the Pro-Life and Family Group of Salto, Alexandra Bozzo, spoke in Plaza 33 to make clear her position on the euthanasia bill being discussed at the national level.
With a confident voice and evident personal commitment, Bozzo warned that euthanasia, as it stands, means "killing a person under the pretext of eliminating their suffering." In her view, it is a "false compassion" that, far from providing support, actually eliminates those suffering from an irreversible illness.
“True compassion makes us empathize with the pain of others. It's not about eliminating the person who suffers, but about being there, accompanying them, providing care,” she maintained. She criticized the bill for “classifying people into those who deserve to live and those who don't” and warned about the risk of considering a life with a low quality of life or dependency “as a hindrance or a burden.”
Bozzo went further, arguing that "allowing euthanasia is putting a price on human life" and displacing medicine from its true mission: to heal, relieve, and accompany patients to a natural end. "Euthanasia replaces medicine because, instead of mitigating pain, it decides to end life," she emphasized.
In his message, he highlighted the role of palliative care as an ethical and humane response to suffering, providing hydration, nutrition, medication, hygiene, and emotional support. "What a patient fears most is not physical pain, but abandonment. And that's where society must be present," he added.
He also linked the discussion on euthanasia to other worrying indicators about life in Uruguay: he mentioned that since the passage of the law on voluntary termination of pregnancy in 2012, more than 106,000 abortions have been recorded, that 2025 marked the lowest number of births since 1888, and that the country has among those with the highest suicide rate in Latin America, with suicide being the leading cause of death among adolescents aged 15 to 19.
For Bozzo, these data reflect "a silent social tragedy" and a growing devaluation of human life. "A society that does not care for its weakest and sickest members loses its own humanity," she stated.
In closing her speech, Bozzo appealed to her Catholic faith and expressed that life "is a gift from God" and that "no one has the authority to take the life of an innocent person, even if they ask for it." "Only God can give it and take it," she concluded, thanking those present and receiving strong applause from the crowd.
At the same event held in Salto's Plaza 33, neurologist Carlos Schroeder spoke to warn about what he believed would be the irreversible consequences of the approval of the euthanasia law in Uruguay.
Schroeder explained that he is part of a multidisciplinary team with professionals from different fields—doctors, philosophers, nurses, lawyers—and from all political parties, who have worked intensively to disseminate, through every possible means, the risks this legislation could pose to the country. "We cannot, in any way, adhere to this law, which will mark a before and after," he maintained.
The doctor recalled that there are international precedents that should serve as a warning. He mentioned the cases of Belgium and the Netherlands, where euthanasia was approved years ago, and reported that the practices there had multiplied exponentially, even reaching—he reported—people who had not requested it, and even minors. He cited as a reference the book "What the Decor Hides ," written by a group of Belgian palliative care physicians who, disappointed by the situation, stopped focusing on comprehensive patient care as they had done before.
With more than four decades of medical experience—43 years as a physician and 38 as a neurology specialist—Schroeder said he has accompanied numerous terminally ill patients, as well as family members and friends in palliative care. In this regard, he emphasized that Uruguay already has a specific palliative care law, approved in 2023, which considers the true answer to alleviating suffering without resorting to euthanasia.
“What terminally ill patients ask for is pain relief, and today we have treatments that practically eliminate the need to endure intense pain,” he stated. He explained that highly effective therapies have been developed in the last five years and lamented that, despite the law, access to palliative care is not guaranteed for everyone.
He commented that it was only this year that patients in the public system in Salta began receiving palliative care, whereas the private sector had already been providing it for a long time. "It's a shame, because a law passed almost two years ago should guarantee this right to the entire population," he emphasized.
In closing, Schroeder left a clear message: "The real solution for the suffering patient lies in universalizing palliative care, not in passing a law that opens the door to euthanasia."
Closing the series of speakers at Plaza 33 in Salto, Ignacio Suparo took the microphone and spoke with a direct and fiery tone against the euthanasia bill being discussed in parliament.
“We are talking about the greatest thing we all enjoy, which is life,” he began, and warned that if Uruguay passes this law, “it will have closed the circle of death” to which John Paul II referred. According to Suparo, the country is already experiencing this “culture of death” since the legalization of abortion and the promotion of what he considers a devaluation of life and family. “First we killed before birth, now they want to kill after birth with euthanasia,” he stated.
He questioned the parliamentary haste in approving the initiative, when, he maintained, "there is no popular outcry demanding it." He asserted that this is not a demand from the citizens, but rather "an agenda coming from above, pressuring our legislators to vote for something that has no basis in fact."
Based on what's happening in countries that have already approved euthanasia, Suparo warned that Uruguay could follow the same path. He noted that of the 195 countries in the world, only six or seven have legalized this practice, while the rest "know the terrible effects it can have on society."
He explained that in these countries, what he called "the slippery slope" has emerged: by turning death into a right, the state institutionalizes, finances, and legitimizes it, leading to more and more people requesting it. "When someone feels alone, sick, or like a burden, they begin to believe that euthanasia is the way out," he noted.
Another serious effect, according to Suparo, is that euthanasia discourages investment in palliative care. This, he asserted, generates more untreated suffering and, consequently, more requests for euthanasia. "It's a vicious cycle," he emphasized, citing figures such as the 1,200% increase in Belgium and the fact that euthanasia now accounts for 5% of annual deaths in Canada.
He also referred to the concept of the "Overton Window," a process by which something unthinkable becomes normalized and expands over time. "Today, in countries where it is approved, not only are more people dying from euthanasia, but those who shouldn't die are requesting it: the poor, the elderly, lonely people, depressed people, and, although it's hard to believe, even children as young as one year old," he denounced.
With prolonged applause, Suparo made his final message clear: "Uruguay needs more life, more births, and policies that strengthen the family. We don't need more death. We need exactly the opposite."
