Spanish Parliament takes first steps toward legalization of euthanasia

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Deuteronomy 30:19

For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. Proverbs 8:35-36

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12 (also Proverbs 16:25)

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,...
...And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Romans 1:22,28

I missed this when it was first reported; as reported by Agence France-Presse, June 27, 2018:

Spain's lower house voted Tuesday in favour of examining a draft law on legalising euthanasia, the second such bill accepted for consideration in just over a month in a first for the country.

Lawmakers voted 208 against 133 -- and one abstention -- to examine the bill, which was drafted by the ruling Socialist party.

In May, a similar proposal submitted by Catalonia's regional parliament was also admitted, but it only focused on legalising euthanasia.

This latest draft law also seeks to make euthanasia legal in public and private health services.

But it goes a step further by regulating it, laying out the conditions by which a person can apply to die.

It is the first time that bills aimed at legalising euthanasia make it past this first parliamentary hurdle after previous attempts failed.

"This regulation guarantees to protect the fundamental right to life, but also the recognition that it isn't an absolute right," Adriana Lastra, deputy head of the Socialist party, told parliament.

"It's a right that must be adjusted according to other values, including that of human dignity."

The draft law stipulates that a person can apply to die if he or she has a serious and terminal illness or suffers from a chronic, severe disability, and if they are Spanish or a legal resident in Spain.

The patient has to make his or her request by writing, free of any pressure, and repeat that demand after 15 days.

A person who can no longer take decisions but has previously given official instructions for the right to die will also be eligible.

Their doctor will then determine whether the patient meets these conditions and ask another physician who knows about the illness or disability to check this too.

Once these checks are done, the doctor will take the case to a regional evaluation and control commission which will give its final say.

For now, people with incurable diseases in Spain only have the option to refuse treatment.

In Europe, Euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Other countries such as Switzerland allow assisted suicide, a practice that lets a doctor provide a patient with all the necessary lethal substances to end their life and leave them to carry out the final act.

Now that it has passed the first hurdle, the bill will go through various stages in parliament before it gets to the final voting stage in the lower house.

The earlier vote was reported by Agence France-Presse, May 10, 2018:

Spain's lower house voted Thursday in favour of examining a bill on legalising euthanasia, a first in the country even if there will likely be major opposition as it weaves its way through parliament.

Lawmakers voted 173 against 135 -- and 32 abstentions -- to examine the bill, which was originally drafted by Catalonia's regional assembly.

This is the first time that a bill aimed at legalising euthanasia makes it past this first hurdle after previous attempts failed, a parliament spokeswoman told AFP.

It seeks to modify part of article 143 of Spain's penal code, which currently bans anyone from causing or cooperating with the death of another person suffering from "a serious, terminal illness or one that causes serious, permanent ailments that are difficult to endure."

The bill would make it legal for a person to cause or help cause the "reliable, peaceful, painless death" of another suffering from those problems if they "specifically, freely and unequivocally" ask for it.

Currently in Spain, people with incurable diseases only have the option to refuse treatment.

But according to an opinion poll conducted by research firm Metroscopia in March 2017, 84 percent of Spaniards are in favour of allowing people with terminal illnesses to be helped to die "painlessly."

Lawmakers from Spain's conservative ruling Popular Party and another from the regional party of Navarra voted against accepting the bill on Thursday.

Centre-right party Ciudadanos, meanwhile, abstained, while all the other groupings in parliament -- most of them left-wing -- voted in favour.

Now that it has passed the first hurdle, the bill will go through various stages in parliament -- with different groups likely to present their amendments -- before it gets to the final voting stage in the lower house.