In Mexico, euthanasia is prohibited, and there is no legal framework that allows a physician to intervene to cause the death of a patient, even if they expressly request it; however, the legislation contemplates the figure of advance directives. This figure allows a person to refuse treatments that prolong their life in case of terminal illness and opt for palliative care, but it does not authorize hastening death. It is regulated in 13 states of the country, and although the details vary, all laws agree that active euthanasia and assisted suicide are not permitted. In Mexico City, the Advance Directives Law establishes that any person of legal age and in full possession of their faculties may manifest their desire not to receive treatments that prolong their life. Article 3 specifies that “the advance directive document is an instrument in which a person freely and consciously states their request to be subjected or not to means, treatments, or medical procedures that promote therapeutic obstinacy.” Meanwhile, in the State of Mexico, the Advance Directives and Rights of Terminal Patients Law, in articles 8 and 10, allows patients to refuse medical procedures that prolong life, guaranteeing palliative care, but explicitly prohibits the administration of drugs to cause death. In Jalisco, the Advance Directives Law indicates that the patient can refuse to receive life-sustaining treatment in terminal situations, as provided for in article 12. Medical personnel must respect the patient's written decision, but it is prohibited to supply medications with the intention of ending life. Similarly, in Oaxaca, its Law on the Rights of People in Terminal Stage establishes in article 7 that “the patient's right to refuse treatments that prolong life is guaranteed, without this implying authorization for procedures that induce death.” Also in Nayarit, the Law on the Rights of the Sick in Terminal Stage guarantees palliative care and the possibility of refusing treatments, but prohibits active actions to cause death. According to article 9, “the patient's right not to receive treatments that seek to actively cause their death is guaranteed.” Furthermore, in Colima, its Advance Directives Law protects the decision not to prolong life through invasive medical measures, making it clear that any intervention to end life is prohibited, according to articles 5 and 6. While in Aguascalientes, the legal framework indicates that patients can decide not to receive treatments that prolong life in terminal stages, but health personnel cannot supply medications with the intention of causing death, as provided for in article 43. The Terminal Patient Rights Law of San Luis Potosi, refers in article 11 that palliative care and refusing treatments that prolong life are allowed, but active euthanasia is explicitly prohibited. In Michoacán, the Advance Directives Law guarantees the patient's autonomy to decide on treatments, but article 14 establishes that “no medical procedure may have the purpose of causing the death of the patient. Likewise, in Hidalgo, the Terminal Patient Rights Law states that decisions not to prolong treatments must be respected, while euthanasia remains illegal, as supported by article 7. In the state of Guanajuato, its current local law allows for the refusal to receive procedures that prolong life, but it establishes in article 12 that any action to induce death is prohibited. Finally, in Yucatán, the Advance Directives and Palliative Care Law regulates that the patient can refuse treatments, but according to article 9, any active intervention to cause death is expressly prohibited. Despite these restrictions, some cases have fueled public debate. Samara Martínez, an activist who has lived with chronic renal failure and serious complications, including lupus, since she was 17, has sought to legalize euthanasia as an option for a dignified death in situations of extreme suffering. In October 2025, Martínez presented the initiative known as the Transcend Law before the Senate of the Republic and seeks to modify the General Health Law and the Federal Criminal Code to allow active euthanasia for people with terminal or chronic-degenerative diseases who are conscious and decide to end their lives. Currently, the initiative is still under analysis and discussion in public forums, but it has not reached the floor of the Senate, leaving the regulation of active euthanasia outside of Mexico's legal framework.
