Valentina Maureira takes a photo of herself with President Michelle Bachelet, at the Catholic University hospital in Santiago, Chile. The ailing 14-year-old released a video last month in which she asked Bachelet to allow her to be euthanized. Bachelet visited the girl and her family but the government said it could not approve her request. Valentina's father said Sunday, March 22, that people who responded to her plea have led her to change her mind despite her suffering from cystic fibrosis.Ximena Navarro/The Associated Press
An ailing Chilean girl who made a public plea for permission to end her life has had a change of heart.
The father of 14-year-old Valentina Maureira said Sunday that people who responded to her plea have led her to change her mind despite her suffering from cystic fibrosis.
A video in which Maureira asked Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to allow her to be euthanized gained global attention last month. Bachelet visited the girl and her family but the government said it could not approve her request.
Fredy Maureira said his daughter especially was moved by a visit from an Argentine family whose children have been stricken by the incurable respiratory illness. He said she also was given hope by meeting a patient who has survived beyond age 20.