Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Spain Approves Law Legalising Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide

Spain Approves Law Legalising Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide

The vote, which passed by 202 in favour and 141 against and two abstentions in the 350-seat chamber, makes Spain the fourth European nation to decriminalise assisted suicide, alongside the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Spain's parliament voted through a law legalising euthanasia Thursday, becoming one of the few nations to allow terminally-ill or gravely-injured patients to end their own suffering.

A priority for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government, the law was drafted following public pressure generated by several high-profile cases, notably that of Ramon Sampedro whose plight was immortalised in the Oscar-winning 2004 film "The Sea Inside".

The vote, which passed by 202 in favour and 141 against and two abstentions in the 350-seat chamber, makes Spain the fourth European nation to decriminalise assisted suicide, alongside the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Although Portugal's parliament passed a similar law in January, it was blocked this week by the Constitutional Court.

"Today we have become a country that is more humane, fairer and freer. The euthanasia law, widely demanded by society, has finally become a reality," Sanchez tweeted just minutes after the vote.

"Thanks to all the people who have fought tirelessly for the right to die with dignity to be recognised in Spain."

The Spanish legislation will permit euthanasia in which medical staff intentionally end a life to relieve suffering, and assisted suicide in which it is the patient who carries out the procedure.

Various other countries permit assisted suicide as well as "passive euthanasia" in which life-saving medical treatment is halted.

Speaking to AFP, Ramona Maneiro, a friend of Sampedro's who was arrested for helping him die but not prosecuted for lack of evidence, hailed the move as a victory "for those who can benefit from it" and "for Ramon".

Strict conditions


Backed by leftwing and centrist parties, the legislation allows anyone with a "serious or incurable illness" or a "chronic or incapacitating" condition to request help dying, thereby avoiding "intolerable suffering".

But the patient must be a Spanish national or a legal resident and must be "fully aware and conscious" when they make the request, which must be submitted twice in writing, 15 days apart.

However a doctor can reject the request if the requirements have not been met; it must be approved by a second medic and by an evaluation body.

Any medic can withdraw on grounds of "conscience" from taking part in the procedure that would be available through Spain's national health service.

The move has been hailed by patients and right-to-die campaigners.

"It doesn't make any sense that people... would choose to live an undignified life," said Sofia Malagon, 60, who has Parkinson's and worries what will happen if she gets dementia.

"I don't want to be left like a vegetable."

"Form of murder"


But the move has been roundly rejected by the Catholic Church and Spain's right and far-right opposition, and some medics have raised questions about its implementation.

Euthanasia "is always a form of murder since it involves one man causing the death of another," said the Episcopal Conference that groups Spain's leading bishops.

"Life cannot be left in the hands of the authorities," said Lourdes Mendez Monasterio, an MP for the far-right Vox party which has vowed to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

"We will not rest until ensuring that at the end of life, a person can die with dignity without pain and without being killed," she told the chamber.

Since the mid-1980s when euthanasia first entered the public debate, the most famous case has been that of Ramon Sampedro, who became a tetraplegic after breaking his neck and fought an unsuccessful 30-year court battle to end his own life with dignity.

He died in 1998 with the help of his friend with his story told in "The Sea Inside" starring Hollywood actor Javier Bardem that won the 2005 best-foreign language Oscar.

A different but equally high-profile case was that of Luis Montes, an anaesthetist accused of causing the deaths of 73 terminal patients at a Madrid hospital. A court dropped the case against him in 2007.

More recently, pensioner Angel Hernandez was arrested in 2019 and is awaiting trial for helping his wife end her life after decades suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×