LISBON, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Portugal is set to debate on Wednesday a petition to promote medically-assisted dying, or euthanasia, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The petition, entitled "the right to die with dignity," defends the decriminalisation of euthanasia and is asking the Portuguese parliament to pass new legislation.
According to the petition, signed by over 8,000 people and handed in to parliament on April 26, 2016, assisted suicide is a right of the sick.
They are calling for the "decriminalisation and regulation for assisted dying as an expression of individual rights to autonomy, religious freedom, and rights of thought and conscience, rights written in the constitution."
The petition will not be voted on in parliament, but each parliamentary bench will have three minutes to debate the issue, according to Lusa.
The head of Portugal's Order of Doctors, Miguel Guimaraes, told local media that he defended a referendum on the issue of euthanasia, saying it should be debated by the Portuguese society, and that the parliament was not competent to take decisions on this matter.
