Survey on Portugal Legalizing Euthanasia

Euthanasia is intentionally ending one’s life to limit suffering from terminal or incurable illnesses.

• Portugal approved euthanasia
• According to the Portuguese media, the president has up to a week to promulgate the new law, which could come into force by the fall
• The deeply Catholic country, however, has strongly opposing views on the legalization of euthanasia

While the practice tends to have opposed views, Portugal recently approved a law to legalize euthanasia, making it one of the few countries in the world that supports the practice.

The law, however, faced strongly opposing views from its deeply Catholic country, where it is almost considered a direct killing of patients by doctors.

Pope Francis expressed his sadness with Portugal’s’ decision to legalize medically-assisted suicide. He said:

Today when we celebrate the memory of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to the little shepherds of Fatima, I am very sad, because in the country where Our Lady appeared, a law to kill has been enacted.

The ethical question of euthanasia is a mixed bag with varying views and opinions. On the one hand, there are concerns about the well-being of the patient, who may be suffering from chronic,  terminal, or incurable diseases and wish to end their suffering.

On the other hand, some feel assisted suicide is almost similar to having doctors kill their patients and is considered similar to murder.

Portugal’s euthanasia law, however, has certain conditions; it will only cover those who are suffering “lasting” and “unbearable” pain. Moreover, the law will only be open to nationals and legal residents of Portugal, meaning that it will not be extended to foreigners yet.

This raises many questions about whether euthanasia should be made available to those suffering, though not terminal.

This prompted Real Research, an online survey platform, to launch a survey on the topic to gauge public opinion. Hence, hurry and answer the survey on Portugal legalizing euthanasia on the Real Research app from May 20, 2023. After that, you will receive 60 TNCs as a reward.