STORY: Patients, family members, activists, and citizens took part on Friday (August 28) in the March for a Dignified Death in Mexico City, demanding the recognition and guarantee of the right to a dignified death in the country.

The demonstration drew more than 300 people, according to Mexico City traffic police figures, and was led by Sámara Martínez, diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and lupus, who advocates for the right to a dignified death in Mexico in light of the progressive deterioration of her health. She is also a promoter of the Dignified Death Now! Coalition, a citizens' coalition that brings together a group of people interested in exchanging information and promoting initiatives to raise awareness of the right to a dignified death in Mexico.

The organization defines the right to a dignified death as one that "guarantees every person's right to make free and informed decisions about the care they wish—or do not wish—to receive at the end of their life."

For now, the only path is the "voluntad anticipada" (advance directive), a legal document or formal declaration that allows a person with full mental capacity to state their preferences regarding medical treatment and health care in advance, in case they become terminally ill or incapacitated and unable to communicate their decisions. Rather than prolonging life through artificial means when recovery is impossible, this measure focuses on regulating end-of-life care, ensuring dignity, and respecting patient autonomy through palliative care.

Alongside dozens of people who showed their support for her cause through slogans written on signs or chanted aloud, Martínez and dozens of other patients marched from the Palace of Fine Arts to the Legislative Congress of Mexico City, where they delivered the signatures and documents to a parliamentary committee, seeking to create a law that would allow patients with terminal or painful illnesses to pass away with dignity.

Through this demonstration, organizers also aim to gather more than 180,000 signatures in support of the proposed Transcend Law. According to its Change.org petition, the euthanasia advocacy initiative seeks to recognize every person's right to decide how their life will end, guarantee a dignified death free from unnecessary suffering, provide medical, ethical, and compassionate support to patients and their families, and establish compassionate end-of-life care as a protected right rather than a criminal offense.

The march was accompanied by a large inflatable white dove figure, which, according to participants, represents the peace sought by seriously ill patients in Mexico.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (AUGUST 28, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. MARCH FOR DIGNIFIED DEATH MOVING PAST FINE ARTS PALACE

2. PROMOTER OF TRASCIENDE (TRASCEND) INITIATIVE, SAMARA MARTINEZ, LEADING MARCH, WITH BANNER READING (Spanish) 'March for dignified death'

3. MARCH MOVING THROUGH DOWNTOWN STREETS

4. DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING (Spanish): "Patient, listen, this is your fight"

5. DEMONSTRATORS MARCHING FOR DIGNIFIED DEATH

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PROMOTER OF THE DIGNIFIED DEATH NOW COALITION, SAMARA MARTINEZ, SAYING: "Legislative timelines are not the timelines of illnesses, which represents exhaustion, represents hopelessness, represents knowing that tomorrow you may have to opt for other options, even legal ones, because in Mexico, it must be said, compassion continues to be heavily criminalised."

7. MARCH OUTSIDE MEXICO CITY CONGRESS

8. VARIOUS OF MARTINEZ HANDING DOCUMENTS, SIGNATURES TO PARLIAMENTARY COMMISSION, PEOPLE SHOUTING (Spanish): 'We want a commitment'

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MARCH ATTENDEE WHO LOST HER FATHER FIVE YEARS AGO TO SYSTEMIC AMYLOIDOSIS, YULISBETH AGUADO, SAYING:

"I am joining because my dad died from an illness that has no cure, he did not have the opportunity of having euthanasia applied. He used advance directive, which is, let's say, the closest thing and it isn't fair."

10. MARCH CONTINUING THROUGH STREETS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) 70-YEAR-OLD ATTENDEE SEEKING DECRIMINALISATION OF EUTHANASIA BECAUSE SHE SUFFERS FROM RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS WHICH HAS PUT HER THROUGH 11 SPINAL OPERATIONS, ELISA MOREIRA MARTINEZ, SAYING:

"(I want them) to authorise, or rather, decriminalise euthanasia. That is the only thing we want, because there are many people who are suffering, even if we can walk. For example, right now I am extremely tired, but I am so excited to be here so that this change can be achieved, that's why I am here."

12. MARTINEZ GIVING SPEECH

13. MARCH FOR DIGNIFIED DEATH

14. SIGN READING (Spanish): "#LeyTrasciende Yes to the Transcend Law through knowledge, conscience and love. Dignified death now!"