The Euthanasia Regulation: A Global Assessment and First Interpretative Difficulties

Abstract

The new Spanish euthanasia regulation has been deemed both unconstitutional and, from the opposite perspective, too weak in guaranteeing the fundamental right of the individual to decide over his or her own death. In this paper it is considered, on the contrary, mostly a reasonable and pondered regulation. After some preliminary considerations regarding the appeal against it to be shortly filed before the Constitutional Court, the fundamental aspects of the new law are reviewed and put into context. The globally positive outcome cannot hide, however, some deficiencies and interpretative difficulties regarding particular aspects which are brought into view.