Spanish lawmakers this week unveiled a bill to allow assisted suicide in the country, completing a crucial step in transforming Spain into a handful of countries around the world to allow terminally ill patients to choose to end their lives .
The bill for which parliamentarians voted was first introduced in February and aims to eliminate an aspect of the Spanish penal code that prohibits anyone from helping to kill a terminally ill person.
The law passed the lower house of Spain’s parliament with a 198-138 vote and is now heading to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, according to The New York Times.
The law will allow a patient to choose between being euthanized by a health care professional or assisted suicide, which they can do on their own at home, taking a prescription to end their lives.
Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland already have laws legalizing assisted suicide, while several US states include provisions for terminally ill patients.
Assisted suicide remains strongly contested around the world, including in Spain, where protesters gathered in Madrid this week to oppose the law, beating funeral drums.