Belgium adopted a law this evening partially legalising euthanasia, making it the second country in the world after the Netherlands to allow mercy killings under specific circumstances.
The bill was adopted by 86 votes to 51 with 10 abstentions and the law is expected to come into force within the three months.
Under the law, a doctor who carries out a mercy killing will not be guilty of having committed a crime if the patient is terminally ill and has made the decision themselves, and if certain other legal procedures have been followed.
The vote comes as the last stage in a three-year legal procedure to see euthanasia legalised.
Liberal Senator Philippe Monfils, one of the prime movers behind the bill described the vote as "a victory for liberty and the respect of patients' dignity."
The Christian-Social opposition voted against the bill, as expected, and vowed to oppose it in the courts. "We will fight this law to the European Court of Human Rights," the party's leader, Mr Tony Van Parys told the Belgian parliament.
According to opinion polls published last year, 72 per cent of those questioned said they were behind the bill under certain conditions.
The conditions laid out in the new legislation in particular specify that the doctor must have satisfied himself that the patient is "of age and conscious."
The request to die must also be made of the patient's own free will, properly thought through and consistent, and not the result of external pressure.
AFP