30 January 2021 12:07 am
LISBON (Reuters), 29 Jan, 2021-Portugal’s parliament voted on Friday to legalise euthanasia, with the country set to become the seventh in the world to allow terminally ill patients to seek assistance from a doctor to end their life.
People aged over 18 will be allowed to request assistance in dying if they are terminally ill and suffering from “lasting” and “unbearable” pain - unless they are deemed not to be mentally fit to make such a decision.
The process will only be open to national citizens and legal residents in order to prevent people from travelling to Portugal to get medical help to end their life.
The law is now in the hands of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative, for a final stamp of approval. He previously said he would respect parliament’s vote.
Some have criticised the timing of the vote, with opposition party PSD saying due to the coronavirus pandemic raging across Portugal there was “great anxiety, great fear among people that has to do with issues of life and death”.