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# Resolución 813 de 2026: the euthanasia procedure and adjusting therapeutic effort

- Law

The Ministry of Health norm that sets how euthanasia is requested, assessed and carried out, and how therapeutic effort is adjusted.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- It repealed Resolutions 971 of 2021 and 825 of 2018 and amended arts. 2 and 3 of Resolution 13437 of 1991 on hospital ethics committees (art. 75).
- Minimum requirements (art. 22): an extreme health condition and intense, unbearable suffering caused by it; a terminal illness is not required.
- Any doctor receives the request: they record it, report it within 24 hours and activate the Interdisciplinary Euthanasia Committee (art. 23).
- Assessments within 10 calendar days (15 for adolescents); if the committee confirms the conditions and the patient confirms, the patient sets the date (arts. 28, 30, 32 and 42).
- Conscientious objection: only by the doctor who may perform the procedure, in writing to the committee; never by the provider (art. 71).
- Minors: newborns and early childhood are excluded; ages 6 to 12 only exceptionally; from 14 to 17 the adolescent's decision prevails (arts. 39 and 41).

## What it is

Ministry of Health Resolution 813 of 2026 complies with the Constitutional Court's orders on the right to die with dignity in two dimensions: euthanasia and adjusting therapeutic effort (AET). It replaced Resolutions 971 of 2021 (adults) and 825 of 2018 (children and adolescents). It no longer requires a terminal illness: an extreme health condition with intense, unbearable suffering is enough. It sets who receives the request, the deadlines, the committees' make-up, the rules for minors and conscientious objection.

## Key articles

- Art. 2: applies to health workers, providers (IPS), insurers (EPS) and Colombian patients and foreigners domiciled in Colombia (with at least one year of uninterrupted domicile).
- Art. 5.2: extreme health condition: a confirmed diagnosis with a serious disturbance that compromises life, prognosis, response to treatment and function; it includes incurable conditions and treatable ones with no definitive functional recovery.
- Art. 8: categories: 8.1 end-of-life conditions (advanced incurable disease, terminal disease with a prognosis under six months, the dying phase); 8.2 serious and incurable disease; 8.3 irreversible bodily injury.
- Art. 8, paragraph 2: a mental illness or disorder can be a serious and incurable disease if it meets item 8.2 and the requirements of art. 22.
- Art. 9: the request is spoken or written, personal, unequivocal and voluntary, and can be made through a DVA; the confirmation is recorded in the committee's minutes.
- Arts. 14 to 20: AET aims to avoid therapeutic obstinacy; the hospital ethics committee, if consulted, gives an advisory opinion within at most 15 calendar days.
- Arts. 21 to 23: any doctor may receive the request; if it reaches a provider or insurer, a doctor is assigned by the next working day; it is recorded at once, reported within 24 hours and the committee is activated.
- Art. 27: the patient may withdraw at any time and move to palliative care or AET.
- Art. 28: the assessments (mental capacity, extreme health condition, the patient's perspective and others) are done within 10 calendar days of the request.
- Art. 30: the committee checks the extreme health condition, intractable suffering, mental capacity, lack of reasonable alternatives and the offer of palliative care and AET; in mental illness it requires documented refractoriness and that it is not an acute phase.
- Art. 32: after confirmation, the patient sets the date; with substituted consent, scheduling takes no more than 30 calendar days.
- Art. 35: if the doctor does not activate the committee, the insurer assigns another doctor; if the committee refuses, the patient may ask for a committee with different members.
- Arts. 58 to 61: a committee in medium- or high-complexity providers, with three members: for adults, a specialist in the main diagnosis, a lawyer and a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist; for adolescents, a paediatrician, a psychiatrist and a lawyer; none an objector or treating doctor.
- Art. 73: the procedure is free, with no co-payments or user fees.

## Step by step

- The patient asks any doctor, spoken or in writing, or uses a DVA; if the request reaches a provider or insurer, it assigns a doctor by the next working day.
- The doctor checks the minimum requirements: an extreme health condition and intense, unbearable suffering.
- They explain AET, palliative care, the right to withdraw and the committee's role.
- They record the request in the medical record, report it within 24 hours and activate the Interdisciplinary Euthanasia Committee.
- The assessments are done within at most 10 calendar days (15 for adolescents).
- The committee checks the eligibility conditions; if they are met, the patient confirms the request.
- The patient sets the date and gives informed consent; the procedure is free.
- If the request is refused, the patient may ask for review by a committee with different members.

## In clinical practice

- A euthanasia request is not ignored or deflected: it is recorded and, if the requirements are in doubt, the committee is still activated (art. 35.1).
- Terminal illness is no longer required; in mental illness the committee requires documented refractoriness and that it is not an acute phase (art. 30).
- An objecting doctor tells the committee in writing and must still give complete, clear information about the right to die with dignity (art. 71).

## Status and official text

- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 in the Ministry of Health's Boletín Jurídico No. 04 of 2026 (section 2.2.6, p. 113), on minsalud.gov.co; technical annexes on www2.minsalud.gov.co. Issued in April 2026; in force from issue (art. 75).
- It repealed Resolution 971 of 2021 (which had replaced 1216 of 2015) and Resolution 825 of 2018 (children and adolescents), and amended arts. 2 and 3 of Resolution 13437 of 1991.
- It complies with Rulings T-970 of 2014, T-423, T-544 and T-721 of 2017, T-060 of 2020, C-233 of 2021, T-445 of 2024, and T-057 and T-438 of 2025.
- It regulates euthanasia and AET; it does not develop medically assisted suicide (Ruling C-164 of 2022).

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## Which resolutions did Resolution 813 of 2026 repeal?

Resolution 971 of 2021 and Resolution 825 of 2018 (art. 75); it also amended arts. 2 and 3 of Resolution 13437 of 1991.

## What are the minimum requirements to process a euthanasia request under Resolution 813 of 2026?

An extreme health condition and intense, unbearable suffering caused by it (art. 22).

## Within what time must the assessments of a euthanasia request be done?

Within 10 calendar days of the request; for adolescents, within 15 calendar days (arts. 28 and 42).

## Who sets the date of the euthanasia procedure?

The patient, after confirming the request before the committee (art. 32).

## Who sits on the Interdisciplinary Euthanasia Committee for adolescents?

A paediatrician, a psychiatrist and a lawyer, appointed by the provider (art. 60).

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## Connections

## Related 6

- [Euthanasia in Colombia: the Constitutional Court's rulings](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/euthanasia-in-colombia-the-constitutional-court-s-rulings/)
- [Advance directives (Documento de Voluntad Anticipada)](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/advance-directives/)
- [Conscientious objection in health care](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/conscientious-objection-in-health-care/)
- [Decision-making capacity (competence) and how to assess it](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/decision-making-capacity-and-how-to-assess-it/)
- [Limiting life-sustaining treatment: withholding and withdrawing](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/limiting-life-sustaining-treatment-withholding-and-withdrawing/)
- [Consent in minors: progressive autonomy in Colombian law](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/consent-in-minors-progressive-autonomy-in-colombian-law/)

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Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.

Sources: [Boletín Jurídico No. 04 de 2026, section 2.2.6: Resolución 813 de 2026](https://www.minsalud.gov.co/Normatividad_Nuevo/Bolet%C3%ADn%20Jur%C3%ADdico%20No.%2004%20%20de%202026.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, 2026); [Resolución 813 de 2026: technical annexes](https://www2.minsalud.gov.co/Normatividad_Nuevo/Resolucion%20No%20813%20de%202026.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, 2026); [Sentencia T-970 de 2014](https://www.corteconstitucional.gov.co/relatoria/2014/T-970-14.htm) (Corte Constitucional de Colombia, 2014).

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License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/resolucion-813-de-2026-the-euthanasia-procedure-and-adjusting-therapeutic-effort/