The text on the decriminalization of medically assisted death was approved this Friday in a final vote in parliament.
The majority of the Socialist Group, the Liberal Initiative, the Left Bloc and the only deputies from the PAN and Livre, as well as six deputies from the PSD – Catarina Rocha Ferreira, Hugo Carvalho, Isabel Meireles, André Coelho Lima, Sofia Matos and Adam Silva .
They voted against Chega’s bank, the PCP and much of the PSD bank, alongside six socialist deputies. On the PS bench, deputies Joaquim Barreto, Pedro Cegonho, Sobrinho Teixeira, Romualda Fernandes, Cristina Sousa and Maria João Castro voted against.
Three deputies from the PSD (Lina Lopes, Jorge Salgueiro Mendes and Ofélia Ramos) and one from the PS (José Carlos Alexandrino) abstained.
Before the start of the voting period, Chega asked for the final general vote on the diploma to be postponed, claiming that the voting guide would not be distributed until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, as would be required by the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly of the Republic. André Ventura also claimed that the text was not published in the Journal of the Assembly of the Republic. Chega’s appeal would end up in the ballot, as it was unsuccessful.
The same fate met the request of the PSD, which also asked for the vote to be postponed by one week, in this case invoking the draft resolution in defense of a referendum, submitted by the Social Democratic Bench, whose admission in a conference of leaders.
The text voted on this Friday is based on bills from the PS, Liberal Initiative, BE and PAN, and was approved this Wednesday after three delays in the specialty (article by article) in the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees.
Yesterday, the president of the republic assured that he would make a quick decision on the law to decriminalize medically assisted death when he received the document in Belém, pointing to Christmas as the likely date.
The text approved this Friday, after Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s political veto of the previous version, about a year ago, dropped the designation “deadly disease” – in the opposite direction of what the President of the Republic intended.
The text establishes that there is “non-punishable medically assisted death”. “by decision of the person, parent, whose will is current and repeated, serious, free and clear, in a situation of suffering of great intensitywith final injury of extreme seriousness or severe and incurable disease, if practiced or aided by health professionals”.
A decision that may be made through medical assisted suicide, with self-administration of lethal drugs, provided by the physician or health care professional appropriately qualified for the purpose; and euthanasia, with administration of the same drugs by the doctor or health professional.
The diploma authorizes the use of medically assisted death in the event of a serious and incurable illness or permanent and very serious injury. and with no cure, leaving the person dependent on a third party or technological support to perform the most basic activities of daily living.
The text voted on today establishes a minimum period of two months from the start of the procedure to its completion, including mandatory psychological support, two requirements not included in the previous version of the text.
Source: DN
