Euthanasia is being voted on in the Assembly of the Republic. The deputies will debate and discuss the five bills of the PS, Left Bloc, PAN, Greens and Liberal Initiative on the decriminalization of euthanasia.
Vote here for the question of the week: Do you agree with euthanasia?
How the vote is done
As in 2018 – the year when the decriminalization of euthanasia was defeated by five votes – each deputy stands up to indicate the direction of personal choice and not that of the bench it integrates. This freedom to vote does not allow foreseeing the result of the vote, as members of the same parliamentary group may present different voting directions.
In theory, supporters of “yes” in the PS, BE, in the Greens, in the PAN, in the Liberal Initiative and independent deputy Joacine Katar Moreira, may have more votes than those who vote against the legalization of euthanasia. Rui Rio has also announced that he will vote in favor of the proposals.
Possible scenarios after the vote
If “bills” of the government are “failed” Left Block, of Socialist Party, of PANParty The Greens and the Liberal Initiative, the “dossier” falls and parliamentary groups, like what happened in 2018, should refer the matter to later, possibly after the next legislative elections, whose normal term is 2023.
If any of them pass in general, and go down to the committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, one of the proponents, the Socialist Party, has already announced that it wants a new law to be concluded before the summer, in a final global vote. The so-called specialty debate follows and the parties will try to come up with a “common text”, the result of negotiations on texts that are not very different from each other.
In that scenario, the weeks and months that follow will also give time to the pro-life and anti-euthanasia movements, with the support of the Catholic Church, to collect signatures – 60,000 are needed – and to propose in parliament a legislative citizens’ initiative for a national referendum .
Questions and answers about euthanasia
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