Portugal’s president, the conservative Marcelo Hebelo de Souza, signed into law on Tuesday the law decriminalizing euthanasia after it was approved by parliament last week following a painstaking, years-long legislative process.

“The president of the Republic ratified the decree (…) as he was obliged” by the Constitution of the Iberian state, the presidency explained in a press release published last night.

The final version of the “medically assisted death” law was approved on Friday by the Assembleia da República in Lisbon: 129 members of the Portuguese national delegation voted in favor, against 81 who voted against (out of a total of 230 seats). The ruling Socialist Party (PS) was in favor.

“The Constitution obliges the president to ratify a vetoed law if it is re-approved by parliament. I will ratify him, of course, it is my constitutional duty”, clarified Mr. Hebelou de Souza after the vote.

The first four attempts to pass the law were unsuccessful, due to vetoes by President Hebelou de Souza, a deeply religious Catholic, and objections raised by the Constitutional Court.

To overcome the head of state’s veto, the PS decided to put the final version of the text to a vote for a second time.

The draft law had been amended repeatedly, to take into account comments from the president, who twice vetoed it, and the Constitutional Court, which also twice claimed to change the text to remove “ambiguities” and “inaccuracies”.

The final text provides that euthanasia is permitted in cases where “medically assisted suicide is impossible due to the patient’s physical incapacity”.

By virtue of the Constitution, the head of state was obliged to approve the bill within eight days after it was delivered to the presidency.

Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s center-left government tabled the original text in Portugal’s parliament three years ago. At the time, most MPs from the main opposition, the center-right PSD party, as well as many parliamentarians from the far-right populist party Chega, opposed decriminalization, despite the strict conditions that were stipulated.

Mr Costa’s Socialist Party has repeatedly stressed that the aim was to give “freedom and dignity” to people who are suffering, in extreme pain due to illness, and want to end their lives.

The opposition had demanded a referendum in the country, where most residents are devout Catholics.

Following the publication of implementing decrees the law is expected to enter into force in Portugal in the autumn, according to press reports.

Euthanasia is a criminal offense that carries heavy prison sentences in most EU member states. In 2021, Spain became only the fourth European country to decriminalize it, following the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.