MADRID (Reuters) – Spain took a major step toward legalising euthanasia on Thursday as the lower house of parliament approved a bill allowing the seriously ill to choose to end their life, despite staunch opposition from the political right and religious groups.
The bill, which allows for euthanasia and assisted suicide for people with “serious and incurable” or debilitating diseases that cause “unbearable suffering,” was passed by 198-138 votes, while a few dozen protesters rallied outside to a funeral beat of several drums.
The document will now go to the senate, which can either sign it into law or send it back to congress with amendments. Without amendments it could be approved by spring 2021.
If passed, Spain would become the fourth country in the European Union to legalise the practices after Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
(Reporting by Nathan Allen, editing by Andrei Khalip)
