London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×