Colombian Acid-Attack Survivor Chooses Life After 26 Years, 87 Surgeries
After 26 years and around 87 reconstructive surgeries, Colombian acid-attack survivor María Consuelo Córdoba, 58, had received authorization for euthanasia — but she has now decided not to proceed.
Córdoba was attacked in 2000 in Bogotá after moving from Chocó with her then-husband to look for work. She said he hid acid in a liquor bottle and threw it in her face when she refused to return home with him. She was left without a nose and with only a small opening for a mouth, breathing through plastic tubes.
Since then she has lived in vulnerable circumstances, unable to work and begging on the streets and buses of Bogotá to pay rent for a small room.
Her case went viral at the end of August after an interview with CityTV. Health insurer Capital Salud confirmed she had been authorized for euthanasia for four years under Colombia’s right-to-die law, which has been legal since 1997. Córdoba had met Pope Francis during his 2017 visit to Colombia and said he had persuaded her at the time not to pursue euthanasia.
In early September, Córdoba said she was tired and wanted to proceed.
After the report spread nationally, support arrived. Donors and doctors offered help for new reconstructive surgeries on her nose and mouth, and Colombian businessman Arturo Calle offered to help her obtain a home.
Following the new support, Córdoba reversed her decision.
“I want to have my surgery because I’m not going to have euthanasia,” she told Caracol Radio.