News Agency France Presse said last week that French MPs had widely approved a law allowing for “deep, continued sedation” for terminal patients, though they also closed the door on euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Rui Nunes told Lusa News Agency he thought the law on people’s fundamental rights was positive, but ethical and medical limits had to be established regarding terminal sedation.
Patients in Portugal can ask for continued or deep sedation via a living
testament.
“There is no reason they can’t do this. But most patients are not properly informed about this possibility and so it is usually a family member who has to decide”, Rui Nunes said.
This kind of sedation is possible in Portugal so long as “the main purpose is to prevent suffering, even by unconsciousness, and not by undercover euthanasia”