The president must publish a euthanasia diploma if the law is approved by parliament

Parliament can approve by an absolute majority the vetoed law, as happened this Wednesday with the euthanasia diploma, and the President of the Republic must pass it.

Article 136(2) of the Constitution of the Republic determines that in the event of a veto of a decree, “if the Assembly of the Republic confirms the vote by an absolute majority of the deputies in office, the President of the Republic shall adopt the decree.” diploma within eight days of receiving it” – as in the case of death by physician law.

This is the fourth time Marcelo has stopped the euthanasia law, a process that began in 2016 and has had success and failure since then.

This Wednesday, Socialist MP Isabel Moreira suggested that the PS would decide to approve the death decree with the help of a doctor, forcing the President to promulgate it rather than reformulate it as he had previously done.

“Just as we always respect each other, and again and again the legitimate decision of the President of the Republic, the rulings of the Constitutional Court, it’s time to respect the will of Parliament,” he told reporters in Parliament, in reaction to Marcelo Rebel D’Souza’s veto.

When asked if she meant that PS intends to confirm the decree, Isabelle Moreira only replied: “I think I was very clear.”

Katarina Martins, coordinator of BE, the party that voted for the law, also argued that it was time to approve the medically assisted death decree, seeing no need for change, as the diploma “responds to any constitutional doubts that may exist.” .

The Liberal Initiative was ready to confirm the decree “as it was returned”, demanding “institutional respect for the Assembly of the Republic”.

On the right, the SDP president defended that there was still time to put a “combined legislative text to a referendum” on euthanasia after a presidential veto, criticizing what he called the “unbridled haste” of the law’s supporters.

And Andre Ventura, the leader of Chega, said that if the parliamentary left would confirm the diploma, which was vetoed by the president of the republic this Wednesday, it would do a “terrible service” to democracy.

The last time Parliament confirmed the law was in 2016, when António Costa was already Prime Minister and Cavaco Silva was President of the Republic.

On February 16, an absolute majority of deputies approved laws vetoed last month by Cavaco Silva, on adoption by gay couples and amendments to the law on voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG).

Amendments to the MGI law passed with 119 votes in favor and 97 votes against, while the law on adoption by same-sex couples passed by 137 votes to 73, with eight abstentions.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was elected President of the Republic seven years ago, exercised a political veto 26 times and vetoed four diplomas for being unconstitutional after requests for preventive review he filed with the Constitutional Court.

Earlier, on January 30, Marcelo vetoed a parliamentary decree decriminalizing the expectation of medically assisted death, as required by the Constitution, following a ruling by the Constitutional Court.