MADRID — Spanish lawmakers on Thursday voted in favor of a law decriminalizing euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, making it likely that Spain will join a handful of other countries where terminally ill patients can legally obtain help to end their lives. Spain’s draft law was presented in February by the incoming Socialist-led government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which argued for the removal of an article in Spain’s criminal code that bans anyone from assisting in the death of a person suffering from a terminal illness. On Thursday, 198 lawmakers of the lower house of Parliament voted in favor of the euthanasia law, while 138 voted against and two abstained. The Senate will next consider the law, and it seems likely to pass there too. If the law passes the remaining parliamentary hurdle, it could come into force as early as next spring.

Source: New York Times December 17, 2020 21:56 UTC