Last week, the Congress of Deputies took a historic step by approving the
Law that regulates the right to euthanasia
, and it did so with a very broad consensus.
As has become customary, certain speeches once again dug trenches among Spaniards, with thick words and arguments, which in some cases - the usual ones - exceeded healthy and highly democratic pluralism and exchange of ideas.
Despite everything, and after not a few hours, a very important majority of the Chamber gave the green light to
a text that puts Spain at the forefront of Europe in terms of rights and freedoms
.
A consensus that, without a doubt, reflects the feelings of the citizens, since around 85% of Spaniards are in favor of the right to euthanasia.
Personally, the processing of this Law reminds me of those words of
Adolfo Suárez
on the legalization of political parties: "Raising to the political category of normal what at street level is simply normal."
Anyone who has shared the torments of a sick family member or friend, or who thinks fearfully of a disabling illness or death itself, will know what I am talking about.
If
an overwhelming majority of Spaniards are in favor of euthanasia
, and we agree that no one wants to suffer unnecessary and irreversible torment in their own flesh or see their family members suffer, we will have to put the magnifying glass on the guarantees and the armored criteria in this Law. In the first place, we are faced with
an extremely guaranteeing text
, which enshrines the most basic principle: the sick person is the only one who can decide to request their right to euthanasia, fulfilling the requirements of the age of majority, being fully powers and stating their will in a free, autonomous and unequivocal manner.
For the process to start, the sick person has to request it in writing and ratify their decision 15 days later.
Afterwards, a doctor will be appointed who will give his opinion on the fulfillment of the requirements.
A second consulting physician will review this criterion.
If one or both of them understand that the requirements are not met, an Evaluation and Guarantees Committee will decide which will designate an analysis team made up of another doctor and a lawyer.
If the refusal persists, an appeal may be made to the judge.
Depending on the procedures involved in each case, at the end of the process, the person may have directly and personally requested euthanasia up to four times.
Those who are unconscious or unable to make this decision will have had to leave their will reflected in writing in a living will, with the appointment of a representative.
Minors may not request the application of this right.
Second, not all sick people, far from it, will be entitled to euthanasia: only those who suffer from a serious and incurable illness or other impossible and irreversible circumstances that cause them constant and unbearable suffering may request it.
Therefore, we are faced with very strict criteria and guarantees to regulate
a right that the vast majority of citizens believe necessary
.
As a liberal party, from Ciudadanos we congratulate ourselves on this
step forward in terms of individual rights
, not without regretting that conservative or ultra-conservative parties, such as PP and Vox, which often deceptively call themselves liberal, have not joined this great agreement.
From Cs we respect, of course, all opinions and beliefs, and for this reason we also affirm that
no one can impose a terrible torment on another person or deny the freedom of others to choose the way to face the disease that they consider more worthy
with the argument of your own personal or moral beliefs.
No one will find in Cs a single lack of respect or an iota of moral superiority towards the intimate beliefs of each person, whatever they may be, no matter how much we agree that they cannot be an argument to impose unnecessary suffering on a third party.
It goes without saying that
no citizen is going to be forced to choose euthanasia
if they do not want to, or that the Law itself shields the conscientious objection of health professionals.
It is a text with which no one loses, and with which we all gain freedom and options to make the best decision for ourselves.
It is true that this Law comes late for many people, anonymous citizens who went through an ordeal similar to that of
Ramón Sampedro
or
María José Carrasco
, but their cases - very hard and very extreme - have served as an example to be able to address this debate seriously .
From now on, no one can be forced to suffer indefinitely if they do not want to.
Today,
Spaniards are freer when deciding how they want to live
.
The euthanasia law will now continue its processing on the way to the Senate, where it will be again studied and improved by the different parliamentary groups.
Without going any further, Ciudadanos has introduced many amendments during its debate in Congress, thanks to the negotiations led by my colleague
Sara Giménez
.
Because, although this legislative text is not ours, we have had no qualms about joining a cause that we consider our own, working and contributing ideas to improve it.
This is further proof that,
when most of the political parties get to work together, we achieve very important advances for the Spanish.
It is a pity that the consensus was not complete, because in a matter like this demagoguery cannot be accommodated.
Beyond the liberal, social democratic, conservative or ultra-conservative ideology of each party, we are all people, we are affected by the same diseases and appealed to by that great democratizer that is death.
Nobody, nobody, is in favor of a Law for death:
this is a law in favor of freedom, that each one decides how they want to live until the last minute
.
Nor is assisted suicide legalized nor is death being a red carpet, as expressed by some interested outbursts.
Those who say something like this are not taking into account the suffering and pain that many people experience every day and show that they have paid little interest when it comes to reading the Law. It is unacceptable to make populism with something so important.
However, at Ciudadanos we consider ourselves to be the promoters of this extension of our rights and freedoms.
And, in the same way that we must not force anyone to live in certain circumstances, neither can we abandon those who decide to continue with their life.
For this reason, from Ciudadanos we were the first to present, and we have just done it again,
a National Law on Palliative Care
, known as the Law of dignified death.
A text that has already received a lot of support in the last legislature, and that now we have to continue developing, because it is more fundamental than ever.
Because
euthanasia and palliative care are two complementary, not exclusive, things
.
We have gained the freedom to be able to decide between dying with dignity or living with the least possible suffering.
As I said before, the Euthanasia Law does not respond to any ideology.
We know, from the trajectory and the strategies that are cooked in Moncloa, that many would love it to have been like that, but no.
There are parties that support the Government that would have liked to see the Hemicycle split in two, to hang the medal of progress in Spain, but
this is not a law of the Frankenstein Government or of the majority that Pablo Iglesias jellies
.
These parties that want to see two sides confronted and entrenched did not have Ciudadanos, a liberal party that makes individual rights its banner.
And they did not count on us because they still do not understand that, wherever there is a cause for freedom, Citizens will be there.
Because we are not sectarian, nor do we vote thinking about who presents or supports each proposal, but whether the proposal is good or not for the Spanish.
This Law does not suppose any triumph for the Government
, in the same way that the PSOE or the PP, which have governed Spain for 40 years, cannot be blamed for millions of people having had to face martyrdom and a real ordeal without a legal support that would endorse their own will, that thousands, millions of people, when they have asked for mercy and help have found a cannot, there is no other, with which moral prejudices and the imposition of the beliefs of third parties condemned them to go through suffering as irreversible as it is avoidable.
This triumph is, as happens every time we win rights and freedoms, of the entire society.
Edmundo Bal
is a parliamentary spokesperson for Ciudadanos.
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