Region of Andalucia approves dignified death law

The regional government of Andalucía has approved Spain’s first law on ‘dignity in death’, with all parties offering their support at the assembly in Seville yesterday.

The law, know as ‘La Ley de Derechos y Garantías de la Dignidad de las Personas en el Proceso de la Muerte’ (The law guaranteeing the rights to dignity of those in the process of death) allows a patient to have the rights to refuse any treatment that will artificially prolong his or her life.

This essentially overrides the responsibility of the Doctor in having to give treatment in these situations, and applies to all medical establishments, regardless of their religious bias.

The law has been generally very well received, although some have stated that it does not go far enough to protect the rights of the patients it claims to be defending.

On the whole the Partido Popular supported the legislation, just voting against three of the issues – recommending that health professionals have the option of objecting to carrying out such wishes due to their conscience, which is something that the current legislation does not allow for.

Many legal professionals agree that such a law needs to be a national one, and that clear recommendations still have to come from ethics committees.