Spain approved euthanasia and became the seventh country in the world where it is legal

The Spanish Parliament definitively approved this Thursday the law that decriminalizes euthanasia and regulates medical assistance in dying as a right and a benefit of the national health system.

Spain becomes the seventh country in the world where euthanasia will be legal, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Colombia, Canada and New Zealand.

It can be requested by adults who suffer “from a serious and incurable disease” or from a “serious, chronic and disabling disease” which affects autonomy and which generates “constant and intolerable physical or psychological suffering”.

After being amended by the Senate, Congress finally approved the law on Thursday with the vote in favor of 202 of the 350 deputies, with 141 against and 2 abstentions.

The rule, which will come into force within three months, was promoted by the ruling Socialist Party, supported by the rest of the left, liberal, nationalist and independence parties; and rejected head-on by the opposition of the conservatives and the extreme right.

This is a “highly consensual” law that provides “an answer to end-of-life situations” marked by “pain, suffering”, Spanish government spokeswoman María Jesús Montero told Cadena radio Ser.

Strict conditions

Interested parties, of Spanish nationality or legal resident, must demonstrate that they are “capable and aware” when making the request. This must be formulated in writing “without external pressure” and be repeated fifteen days later.

The doctor can always reject it if he feels that the conditions are not met. In addition, it must be approved by another doctor and receive the green light from an evaluation committee. And any health professional can invoke “conscientious objection” to refuse to participate in the procedure, paid for by public health.

This settlement has been greeted with joy by organizations defending the right to die with dignity, who have maintained a struggle of decades, in which high-profile cases made the problem visible.

The most emblematic, that of Ramon sampedro, a quadriplegic Galician who spent 29 years advocating for the right to assisted suicide. The film about its history, “Mar inside”, directed by Spanish-Chilean Alejandro Amenábar and starring Javier Bardem, won an Oscar in 2005.

The law is a victory “for those who can benefit from it” and also “for Ramón”, he welcomed in an interview with the AFP Ramona Maneiro, the friend who helped Sampedro die. She was arrested for this, but not tried for lack of evidence. “It makes no sense that people (…) have to choose an unworthy life,” said Sofía Malagón, a 60-year-old Colombian with Parkinson’s disease, in Barcelona. “I don’t want them to have me there like a plant” when the time comes, he said.

On another side, the legislation is rejected by the Catholic Church and its application raises questions in some medical sectors.

Euthanasia “is always a form of homicide, since it involves one man killing another,” the Spanish Bishops’ Conference (EEC) said in a campaign on social networks. “A doctor doesn’t want anyone to die. It is the DNA of the doctor, ”said Manuela García Romero, vice president of the federation of the Collegiate Medical Organization, expressing doubts about the application of the law.

Besides that of Ramón Sampedro, other cases have had an impact in Spain in recent decades, such as that of Luis Montes, an anesthesiologist accused of causing the death of more than 70 terminally ill patients, but was ultimately rejected by a court in 2007. And more recently, in 2019, Ángel Hernández was arrested and awaiting trial for helping his wife die, immobilized by multiple sclerosis.

(With information from EFE and AFP)

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