- Austria’s Federal Chancellery has said that the federal government has submitted a draft law legalizing assisted suicide for chronically or terminally ill adults
- Under the law, two doctors must be consulted and attest that those concerned are capable of making their own decisions
- Spain became the fourth European Union country to legalize euthanasia earlier this year, and an equivalent bill was also debated in the UK on Friday
VIENNA, Austria: Austria’s Federal Chancellery has said that the federal government has submitted a draft law legalizing assisted suicide for chronically or terminally ill adults.
The new law, which followed a ruling by the Constitutional Court in December that deemed assisted suicide as unconstitutional since it violated a person’s right to self-determination, established future conditions for assisted suicide.
The Federal Chancellery stated, “Seriously ill people should have access to assisted suicide.”
Under the law, two doctors must be consulted and attest that those concerned are capable of making their own decisions.
A 12-week delay will then follow for the patient, but this could be reduced to two weeks for patients in the final stages of an illness.
Spain became the fourth European Union country to legalize euthanasia earlier this year, and an equivalent bill was also debated in the UK on Friday.
