The five bills for the decriminalization of euthanasia, prepared by the PS, BE, PEV, PAN and Liberal Initiative, have already been presented at the Assembly of the Republic, and the debate on them is now underway. In the end, deputies will vote on each bill. If any of them is approved, there will be a green light to continue the legislative process.
6:40 pm – The decriminalization of euthanasia is approved
The decriminalization of euthanasia was approved by the deputies of the Assembly of the Republic. All submitted projects were approved.
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The bill for the BE obtained 124 votes in favor, 85 votes against and 14 abstentions.
The bill for the PAN obtained 121 votes in favor, 86 against and 16 abstentions.
The bill for the PS obtained 127 votes in favor, 86 votes against and 10 abstentions.
The bill for the PEV obtained 114 votes in favor, 86 against and 23 abstentions.
The bill for the IL obtained 114 votes in favor, 85 votes against and 24 abstentions.
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18h10 – Voting has started
Members of the Assembly will vote one by one.
17h57 – Debate is over
The debate on the five bills to decriminalize medically assisted death in the Assembly of the Republic lasted two hours and 44 minutes.
The discussion started at 3:05 pm and ended a few minutes ago. Voting follows, which are not immediate, given that there are other initiatives to be voted on besides euthanasia projects.
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17h55 – BE talks about compassion and freedom
The blocker Pedro Filipe Soares recalled that this is a debate with more than 20 years and is about “compassion”.
“This is a topic that confronts us with the most difficult things in life: pain and suffering”, considered the deputy. “Dignity is defined by ourselves before ourselves. It is not imposed by others on us ”.
“If so, then we shouldn’t have a law that makes a choice for us, but we should have a law that gives freedom to our choice”He added.
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17h53 – Investment in palliative care is to maintain, defends PSD
Deputy Sofia Matos, of the PSD, is in favor of decriminalizing euthanasia and said that the approval of a bill in this sense “It cannot mean less investment by the State in the palliative care network”.
“My conscience dictates that I must vote in favor of these diplomas giving these citizens the possibility to choose to live or die,” said the young candidate for leadership at JSD.
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PSD deputy Cláudia Bento, who is against assisted death, recalled that this is an irreversible decision and that it violates the ethics of medicine.
17h41 – “Irrefutable reality”, says the PS
The physicist and socialist deputy Alexandre Quintanilha stressed that the PS project is oriented “by values of courage and humility, but also of respect for dignity and compassion, and meets an irrefutable and evident reality ”.
“For the PS, the most noble objective of democracy is to give each person the necessary conditions so that they can freely and independently choose their life project, giving the same freedom to others,” he said.
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5:17 pm – Joacine mentions “non-endorsable” values
The non-registered deputy, Joacine Katar Moreira, said that she will vote in favor of medically assisted death and defended that the values surrounding this issue “are not endorsable”.
“We deserve, each and every one, a death that does not dehumanize us and that, at the end of our existence, we have the chance to die in a way that dignifies our existence ”, he stressed.
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17h11 – André Ventura appeals to the President of the Republic
On the side of the Liberal Initiative, André Ventura declared that “a country where there is no palliative care, in a Parliament that refuses to criminalize the abandonment of the elderly, will now decriminalize their death and will now allow them to have the so-called assisted death”.
“Appeal to the President of the Republic not to forget the Portuguese who are out there and who want the opportunity to at least be able to vote on this ”.
The deputy referred to the German case, showing what he said was a copy of the decree signed in 1939 by Adolf Hitler to “decriminalize euthanasia” in that country. “Here it is [o documento], so that History does not forget those who promote these same practices ”, he said.
In Germany, euthanasia is illegal, but the authorities admit that assisted suicide may exist if it is committed by a terminal patient in intolerable and irreversible suffering.
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16h58 – “Civilizational setback”, says CDS
Telmo Correia was chosen to debate on behalf of the CDS-PP and cited article 24 of the Constitution, which states that “human life is inviolable”.
“The CDS is a humanist party, with a personalist matrix, which is why (…) we assume that for us there are no more or less dignified human lives. There are no human lives that are worth living and others that are not. Life always has the same value, from its beginning to its natural end”, He defended.
“The eventual approval here today does not represent an advance, but a sinister civilizational setback”.
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“A doctor never approaches a patient except to treat him (…) Never to kill him. Admitting otherwise would, moreover, have an unacceptable consequence and would break the trust between the doctor and his patient. Breaking of trust in doctors, but also in the NHS itself, which would thus turn to a system that patients use, not only to be helped, but also to be administered death “, said Telmo Correia.
16h47 – PSD deputies with different views
On the PS side, two deputies spoke in this debate, one who is against and the other in favor of euthanasia. António Ventura, who is against, was the first to speak, emphasizing that the Constitution states that “human life is inviolable” and warning about the failures in the provision of palliative care in the country.
In addition, the deputy said he feared that the decriminalization of euthanasia could “gain wings” and, in time, become “a more comprehensive euthanasia”.
Congressman André Coelho Lima, who is in favor, considered that the right to assisted death turns out to be “an act of deep love for others.”
“But also an act of respect. Respect that someone’s will about themselves it must prevail over those who suffer because they see him go, “he argued.” I am completely opposed to the state being able to decide how and under what conditions someone should die. I consider this to be a civilizational barrier that cannot be overcome, “he declared.
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16h35 – PCP defends that State should not decide on the terminal phase of citizens’ lives
“It is not an opposition taken lightly,” said deputy António Filipe. “It is an option that results from intense reflection”.
“We admit that the proponents’ intention is to save human suffering and respect the individual option to end suffering, asking for support to end life. However, what we are discussing (…) is not about the individual option of each one, but about the attitude to be taken by the State regarding the terminal phase of the lives of its citizens ”, he argued.
“What is being discussed is the question of whether the State that denies many citizens the means to live with dignity should offer them the legal means to anticipate death allegedly with dignity ”.
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“Let us understand: the right to life is a fundamental, inviolable and inalienable right. Death is an inevitability. It is not a right. Because if death were a right, it would not be lawful to make the anticipation of death dependent on the decision of third parties. “, he stressed.
Submission of proposals
O Left Block he was the first to present the bill on euthanasia, which he referred to as a “democratic step”, refusing “opportunistic political maneuvers” or “emotional blackmail” in parliamentary decisions.
“The decriminalization of assisted death is the most humane and democratic option that we can approve for the end of life: no one is obliged and no one is prevented, the only criterion is the choice of each one”, argued the blocker deputy José Manuel Pureza.
There followed the PAN, who considered that what is at stake in the debate on euthanasia is deciding whether to keep an “act of kindness” as a crime punishable by imprisonment.
“To decriminalize medically assisted death is to defend a fundamental human right that has yet to be fulfilled, it is to decide who belongs to each person’s life, it is to recognize the last individual freedom of someone to be helped at the moment, perhaps the most difficult part of their life. “, declared deputy André Silva.
The PS he argued that each person should be an “architect free of his destiny”, emphasizing that what is at stake in the debate on assisted death is to decriminalize euthanasia and not to liberalize it.
“Today’s vote in favor of this bill does not crush anyone’s convictions. The contrary vote only allows the convictions of some to survive”, stressed socialist Isabel Moreira.
O Ecologist Party “Os Verdes” he guaranteed that his bill on decriminalizing euthanasia “in no way” takes the State away from the duty to “guarantee patients access to palliative care”.
“Should the State determine that a person in the condition in which he loses his autonomy, his dignity, his freedom to decide about himself, and about his life, forcing him to live in suffering, contradicted, when there is no other solution? ? “asked deputy José Luís Ferreira.
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Finally, the Liberal Initiative he presented his proposal making reference to the “rights and principles” of each person, as well as respect for health professionals, also ensuring that he will vote against the projects of the other parties because they do not guarantee prior access to palliative care.
“It is not easy to talk about the end. It is not easy to know what each of us will feel on our deathbed. It is not easy to ponder rights and principles. But it was what we tried to do in our project, guaranteeing previous access to palliative care, respecting an expressed, free, current and informed will of the person ”, said João Cotrim de Figueiredo.
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