Hours before the new vote on the decriminalization of death by medical aid, Parliament this morning debated the new version of the diploma, which removes from the text the phrase “physical, mental and spiritual suffering” – the target of the Constitutional Court – and the primacy of medically assisted euthanasia, with the drafters of the proposal justifying the changes with the need to adapt the text to the TC repairs. An argument that failed to convince the right-wing benches: the PSD announced that it will again propose a referendum on euthanasia during the next legislature.
For the PS, Isabel Moreira pointed to the decriminalization of medically assisted death as the “most scrutinized law” in memory, after “nearly a decade of unprecedented debate in society”. “It is a thoroughly legitimate law,” insisted the socialist deputy, who believes “comfortable conditions” have been created for the president of the republic to enact. On the changes that have now been introduced, Isabel Moreira, already responding to Chega’s criticism, said she preferred the previous version of the text, but underlined that the change was “imposed through a careful reading of both the judgment of the Constitutional Court as the voting statements” of several advisory judges, who raised the issue of euthanasia being on par with medical assisted suicide as preferred patient hypotheses. “It makes sense to anticipate this implicit requirement,” said Isabel Moreira” – “We are all democrats here and we respect the Constitutional Court.”
Also Catarina Martins, on behalf of the Bloco de Esquerda, underlined that the new text explains “what was always clear and was in the spirit of the law: the priority of assisted suicide”. And if the declaration of unconstitutionality came in the wake of Belém’s inspection request, the deputy and bloquista leader insisted underlining that the TC was “unequivocal”: “Nothing relied on by the President of the Republic deserved negative judgment”It should not be necessary for parliament to rule on this law again,” said Catarina Martins, speaking of a “broad consensus” in Portuguese society on the decriminalization of medically assisted death.
For the Liberal Initiative, which is also the proponent of the text, Patrícia Gilvaz also pointed to the “broad debate in Portuguese society” and the “deep and thoughtful debate” in the Assembly of the Republic around a diploma that extends individual freedom , arguing that it is the “consecration of a right”, which is different from the “obligation to defend its exercise”. Inês Sousa Real, from the PAN, who is also signing the bill, also spoke of one of the “most discussed and participated processes” ever, which has already passed through several legislatures.
Rui Tavares, who will also vote in favor of the proposal, defended that this is a matter of “respect” – “for individual autonomy, for the diversity of religions, for the conscience of everyone”, but also for the “Rule of Law”.
On the other hand, the PSD, through the vote of Representative Paula Cardoso, pointed to the primacy of medically assisted suicide over euthanasia, speaking of “cruelty” and insisting that this amendment goes against the article of the Penal Code that penalizes assisted suicide . Defending that the changes translate into a “paradigm shift”, the Social Democratic deputy argues complained about the “little time for analysis” of a text with “substantial changes” and again called for the referendum proposal that the PSD failed to schedule last Decemberannouncing that it will do so again during the next legislature.
According to André Ventura, the statement that “the state can only kill if people are incapable of killing themselves is absurd and contrary to the criminal code that punishes incitement to suicide”, so “both the President of the Republic and the Constitutional Court “cannot fail to ask new questions”. And he again pushed for a plebiscite: “If you are so convinced that there is a broad consensus in Portuguese society, let’s go to a referendum”,
PCP delegate Alma Rivera defended “absolute priority for the creation of a universal network for palliative care”emphasizing that the state wants to decriminalize medically assisted death when “it does not guarantee material conditions to help someone live”.
Source: DN
