Original article: Mirosevic acusa «veto en las sombras» de Kast a la Ley de Eutanasia: «Lo que viene es un ultraconservadurismo que niega el derecho a morir con dignidad»
«It is clear that there is a veto and an instruction from the elected President for this not to work, and that is what is known from discussions in the Senate,» denounced elected deputy and senator Vlado Mirosevic, one of the authors of the bill.
In light of the delays in processing the Euthanasia Law in the Senate, Vlado Mirosevic, a deputy from the Liberal Party, accused Republican maneuvers to postpone its progress through a «shadow veto» coming from elected President José Antonio Kast.
Despite the government’s repeated emphasis on the «urgent necessity» of this initiative — aimed at regulating assisted death for patients with severe and irreversible illnesses — it has yet to make progress on its legislative intentions.
The bill, known as the «Dignified Death Law,» is currently in its second constitutional process and is based on the amalgamation of four parliamentary initiatives proposed since 2014.
The initiative was voted on in committee and approved in the Chamber, so for it to be approved before the current legislative period ends, the Senate must schedule it for voting.
However, in the session held on January 6, senators did not vote or review the project, prompting government minister Macarena Lobos to accuse that “there were delaying maneuvers.”
Along the same lines, elected senator Vlado Mirosevic directly accused Kast of behind-the-scenes interference to prevent the discussion of the Euthanasia Law. He recalled that during the campaign for the presidential runoff, the Republican candidate stated that if he were to reach La Moneda, he would veto the project «as a suggestion to Congress.»
“What is coming here is an ultra-conservatism that denies Chileans the right to die with dignity. This is genuinely terrible. What is clear is that from now until March, the Senate, with its current majority, has no intention of addressing the euthanasia law,” the legislator told El Mostrador.
He referred to an agreement that may have been subscribed in the parliamentary factions, which proposed that the initiative would be voted on after the elections, so as “not to inconvenience Kast in the second round.” However, he noted that this pact was not respected.
«It is clear that there is a veto and an instruction from the elected President for this not to work, and that is what is known from discussions in the Senate,» he emphasized.
These statements come on the heels of remarks made by the parliamentarian on January 13, when he accused Kast’s «ultra-conservatism» of already manifesting in the Senate and coordinating right-wing efforts to prevent the “Euthanasia Law” from being discussed.
“Religious moralism and ultra-conservative ideological extremism will be the tone of what is to come,” Mirosevic warned on that occasion, who is one of the authors of the bill initiated in 2014.
Push for Euthanasia Law “Even Against a Conservative Government”
With three weeks left in the current legislative period, Mirosevic foresees difficulties for the initiative to see the light of day and for the repeated urgency for immediate discussion by the current government of President Gabriel Boric to be respected, the most recent of which was renewed in December 2025.
“We are continuing to push week after week, and not only that, but also for the urgencies set by the President, which are constitutional urgencies that the Senate has deliberately rejected to comply with in the committee meeting of faction leaders,” he stated.
In this context, the parliamentarian made it clear that from the future opposition they will continue to advocate for the legislation “even against a conservative government.”
A task that he believes “will not be easy,” considering the fundamental role of the Ministry of Health in ensuring that the “dignified death” project becomes law, which under Kast’s far-right administration will be led by Dr. May Chomali, sister of Santiago Archbishop Fernando Chomali.
