Spain is to legalize euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, they are the fourth country in Europe to do so. The motion passed by 202 in favor, 141 against and two abstentions in the 350-seat chamber. A 2019 opinion poll showed that almost 90 percent of Spaniards supported decriminalizing euthanasia.
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted:
“Today we have become a country that is more humane, fairer and freer. The euthanasia law, widely demanded by society, has finally become a reality,” Sanchez tweeted just minutes after the vote.”
“Thanks to all the people who have fought tirelessly for the right to die with dignity to be recognized in Spain.”
The country will authorize adults with serious “chronic illness with no chance of recovery and with unbearable suffering to opt to end their lives with either euthanasia or doctor-assisted suicide.”
To qualify for euthanasia, a patient must be an adult Spanish national or a legal resident and be “fully aware and conscious” when they make the request.
Euthanasia has grown into a hot button issue in Spain, since paralyzed man Ramon Sampedro recorded his assisted suicide in 1998 at the age of 55 after being denied that right by courts for over 25 years. Sampedro became quadriplegic at the age of 25 in 1968 after a diving accident. The Oscar-award-winning movie, “The Sea Inside,” was based on his story.
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—By CNJ Staff