Portugal’s Parliament voted in favour of legalising euthanasia on Friday 29 January, with many in the country expressing disbelief that MPs would move ahead with the vote just as Portugal is experiencing the worst period of the pandemic. The final vote took place the day after the country registered the highest number of Covid-related deaths in 24 hours, 303, since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Portuguese Bishops Conference reacted with a statement expressing “sadness and anger” at what it called an “unprecedented cultural step backwards”.
A number of other organisations also expressed their dismay at the decision to legalise euthanasia but the lockdown in place meant that no demonstrations were scheduled for the time of the vote, as had happened in the past.
The Catholic Doctor’s Association released a statement placing their hope in self-proclaimed Catholic President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, asking that he veto the legislation. Marcelo, fresh from winning a second term with over 60 per cent of the vote, will have to decide whether he signs the law, vetoes it or sends it to the Constitutional Court. Parliament can override a veto quite easily with a simple majority vote, forcing him to sign it into law and there are doubts as to how the Constitutional Court would vote.
Rebelo de Sousa himself has said that he will not let his personal convictions direct his decision, which some commentators interpreted as a willingness to approve the law if it passed in Parliament with over 50 per cent of the votes, which it did. However, his hefty reelection majority could give him the support to block the law as far as possible, as he is known to be personally opposed.
Even if euthanasia does become law, it is unclear how it would be applied since the bill requires the forming of a five-person commission to green-light each case. At least one of the positions on the commission is reserved for the Portuguese Doctor’s Guild, but the guild has steadfastly refused to take part in the process in any way. It is unclear if the position could remain unfilled.
Euthanasia was approved by 136 votes, with 78 against and 4 abstentions. Most left-wing MPs voted in favour, with the exception of the Communist Party, which voted against.
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