MADRID — Spain’s new left-wing government submitted to parliament on Tuesday a bill that would allow euthanasia and assisted suicide in certain cases, reigniting a bitter debate on whether to decriminalize both practices. Euthanasia involves a physician taking an active role in ending a patient’s life whereas in assisted suicide the doctor provides a lethal substance for the patient to self administer. The Spanish film tells the story of how Ramon Sampedro, a paralyzed man who for decades campaigned for the legal right to die, committed assisted suicide after courts denied him that right. Within Europe, euthanasia and assisted suicide are allowed in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium in certain circumstances and under strict local regulations. (Reporting by Emma Pinedo and Nathan Allen in Madrid and Catarina Demony in Lisbon, editing by Andrei Khalip and Alexandra Hudson)

Source: National Post February 11, 2020 17:48 UTC