Sánchez opens door to euthanasia law
Thursday, June 28, 2018 @ 6:14 PM
PEDRO Sánchez's government has opened the door to the country's first law on euthanasia, which would allow 'dying with dignity' to become an integral part of the State healthcare system.
All parties except the right-wing PP, in government until early June, voted for the debate to go ahead on this highly-delicate issue.
Research shows that 84% of residents in Spain agree euthanasia should be possible where there is no other alternative, although dissenters fear it could open a can of worms whereby sick, elderly or disabled people who are concerned about being a burden feel 'pressured' or 'morally obliged' to opt to end their lives.
Spokeswoman for the reigning socialist party, Adriana Lastra, says the legislation would regulate assisted dying for patients with serious and incurable illness or severe and chronic disability which leads to 'extreme suffering', as an optional alternative to 'prolonging a life when this merely means prolonging intolerable agony'.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com