Could Portugal be The Fourth State in Europe to Legalize Euthanasia? albawaba.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from albawaba.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Posted on 30 January 2021.
Portugal Parliament voted overwhelming, on Friday, 136-78 with four abstentions, in favor of euthanasia, allowing doctors to medically assist patients to commit suicide through lethal drugs.
Although President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, with 20 days to deliberate, has the power to approve, veto or send the law to the Constitutional Court for review, Parliament can override the president’s veto.
President Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative practicing Catholic, has indicated he may oppose the measure on the basis of the law infringing Portugal’s constitution, which states “human life is inviolable.”
Most legislators from the governing Socialist Party (PS) voted in favor, along with the other left-leaning smaller liberal, political factions. The law combines five right-to-die bills passed on February 2020.