Portugal’s parliament on Thursday agreed the debate of the Left Bloc (BE), Socialist Party (PS), People–Animals–Nature (PAN) and Ecologist Party “The Greens” (PEV) projects on the decriminalisation of physician-assisted death, for 20 February.

Pedro Filipe Soares, parliamentary leader of the BE, André Silva, PAN MP, and Pedro Delgado Alves, vice-president of the PS, said they believe they can pass a new law this time, unlike two years ago.

“We think there is a large majority in the parliament” to approve the bills, said Filipe Soares, who believes in a favourable majority.

Pedro Delgado Alves said that it was essential to resume this initiative and that after the 2019 legislation, today there is a majority in another direction, different from the previous one.

In the PS, Delgado Alves said MPs will be free to vote, as they were two years ago.

The parliamentary leader of the PCP, João Oliveira, told Lusa he sees no reason to change his opinion for 2018 – against.

In 2018, the parliament debated projects to decriminalise medically assisted death of the PS, BE, PAN and Greens, but they all failed, in a roll-call vote by MPs, one by one, and in which the two biggest parties gave freedom to vote.

Given the result, the parties in favour of decriminalisation referred the resubmission of proposals to the next legislature, which came out of the October legislatures.