The Portuguese Parliament today approved the second version of a law decriminalizing euthanasia, sending the text to the Conservative president’s camp after it was redrafted to take into account the reservations expressed by the Constitutional Court.
The text, which “allows medically assisted death”, was approved by 138 votes in favor out of a total of 227, thanks to the votes of left-wing parties, apart from the Communist Party, and many center-right MPs, as was the case under the first law last year. January.
It will now be re-submitted to President Marcello Rebelo de Souza, who has asked the Constitutional Court to verify its compatibility with the country’s constitution.
The new form of the law includes an introduction which defines the concepts of “final damage of extreme severity” or “serious or incurable disease”, which according to the Constitutional Court were very vague.
The head of state, an ardent Catholic, can now enact the law, challenge his veto or submit it once again under the Constitutional Court’s analysis.
If the text enters into force, Portugal will become the fifth country in Europe to legalize euthanasia after the Benelux countries and neighboring Spain.
Today’s vote follows the announcement of the dissolution of Parliament by the president, who decided to call early parliamentary elections on January 30, following the rejection of the state budget by the minority Socialist government ousted by the former Allies. .
Parliament will continue to function until its formal dissolution, which is expected in late November, but many right-wing MPs have criticized the left’s fervor to legitimize euthanasia in this context.
Supporters of the decriminalization of assisted suicide argued that the final form of the law was “the result of a long social and parliamentary public debate,” according to Socialist Party MP Isabelle Moreira.
SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
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Source From: Capital
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