Bill Legalising Euthanasia Approved by Spain's Lower House of Parliament

If the initiative is greenlit by the upper house, Spain will become the fourth country in the EU to legalise the practice for terminally ill patients after Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.

The lower house of the Spanish parliament has approved a bill allowing gravely ill patients to make a voluntary decision to end their life, despite opposition from the political right-wing and religious groups.

✅ El #Pleno aprueba por mayoría absoluta el dictamen sobre la Proposición de Ley Orgánica de regulación de la #eutanasia, que será remitida al @Senadoesp.

📝 Nota de prensa: https://t.co/8THCO9TKTe pic.twitter.com/qLGQBwtFp1

— Congreso (@Congreso_Es) December 17, 2020

The bill allows euthanasia for people with "serious and incurable" or debilitating diseases that cause "unbearable suffering".

The bill was passed on Thursday by a majority of votes - 198 to 138 - while a few dozen protesters rallied in front of the parliament to a funeral beat of several drums.

The document will now go to the Senate, which can either sign it into law or send it back to Congress with amendments. Without amendments it may ultimately get approval in the next few months, making the country the fourth EU state to give a green light to the practice, after Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.