Spanish law allows for assisted suicide and euthanasia for people with “serious and incurable” or debilitating illnesses that cause them “unbearable suffering.”
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At the end of the week, 198 deputies raised their hands for him, 138 against. The Times reported.
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The difference between assisted suicide and euthanasia is that in euthanasia, the act of killing is performed by the assisting person, while in assisted suicide, the dying person performs alone; the assistant just prepares a poisonous drink, for example, provides medical supervision or premises.
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According to The Times, the Spanish parliament has not passed the bill four times in recent years, mainly due to the strong opposition to euthanasia in the country’s influential and strong Catholic Church.
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Therefore, part of the approved standard is that any health care provider may refuse to participate in the process of euthanasia or assisted suicide on the basis of religious beliefs.
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Seven countries in the world
If the law does not change the senators in any way, it could be approved next spring.
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In this case, Spain will become the fourth country in the European Union to allow seriously ill patients to opt out.
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So far, they can do so in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In addition to the EU, citizens have this right in Canada, Colombia and Western Australia.
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Some countries in the world, such as Switzerland, allow for assisted suicide, that is, suicide committed with the help of another person. This is also true in several US states.
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In the Czech Republic, none of these options is legal. The law – as in many other countries – only provides for so-called passive euthanasia, ie the possibility of disconnection from devices if the patient has clearly stated at what point he no longer wants to be kept alive. In July, the government rejected some MPs’ efforts to legalize euthanasia.
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Legalization efforts are underway in Portugal, Austria and New Zealand
In February, similar bills on the legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia were approved by the Portuguese parliament. However, it is not clear whether and when the law will enter into force. According to The Times, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who must sign it, has already expressed reservations about it. He has the right to veto the norm, but deputies can override it.
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The legalization of euthanasia was also approved by the New Zealanders in an October referendum. According to The New Zealand Herald, the first patients could benefit from euthanasia around the middle of 2021. According to the plan, only people who suffer from an incurable disease and probably have no more than six months to live are entitled to it.
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In New Zealand, as in the case of Spain, these should be patients who are experiencing “unbearable suffering” that cannot be relieved by any means. The terminally ill could self-administer the deadly substance, or they could be given to them by a doctor or nurse.
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However, two European countries are embarking on the path of legalization of assisted suicides. In Austria, according to the DPA, it was opened by the local constitutional court last week. He ruled that the definition of the Criminal Code to assist in suicide is unconstitutional because it violates the fundamental right to freedom of the individual. According to the court, the ban on the dying denies the fundamental right to free choice.
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According to the APA, the decriminalization of assisted suicide should enter into force at the end of 2021.
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The possibility of assisted suicide was also ruled in February this year by the Constitutional Court in Germany, which, like the Austrian one, concluded that a law restricting assisted suicide violates the fundamental rights of the seriously ill.
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