The Austrian Parliament approved this Thursday (16) that people suffering from a serious or incurable disease can undergo euthanasia.
According to the text, which had the general support in the Legislative, with the exception of the far-right party FPO, adults in the terminal stage of illness or who suffer from a permanent and debilitating illness may have help to end their lives.
Two doctors, one of them specializing in palliative medicine, will evaluate each case. They will have to determine if the patient is able to make the decision independently.
In addition, patients will have to wait 12 weeks until suicide help is accepted, to avoid cases of temporary seizures. This deadline will only be two weeks for terminal patients.
The parliament’s resolution comes in response to a court ruling that found the current ban to violate fundamental rights. A year ago, the Constitutional Court ordered the government to review legislation that punished assisted suicide with a sentence that reached five years in prison.
In addition, a budget of 108 million euros for palliative care was approved, to ensure that “no one chooses death if there are other possibilities”.
Euthanasia is legal in other European countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Spain. In South America, only Colombia allows active euthanasia.
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