A project seeking to establish specific regulations for the practice of euthanasia in Colombia has been defeated at the second round of Senate debates.
The project, which had passed through the first congressional hurdle in October 2012, failed due to a lack of progress through the Senate, meaning that not enough time was left for the legislation to be approved as a statutory law.
MORE: Bill to regulate euthanasia passes 1st Congressional vote in Colombia
Senator Armando Benedetti of the U Party, the proponent of the legislation, placed the blame for the sinking of the project on Senate President and fellow U party member Roy Barreras, claiming that the project was never given the appropriate amount of time to be discussed.
“The regulations state that statutory laws should head the order of the day [in Senate discussion scheduling] but he [Barreras] put it in 16th place” claimed Benedetti while also accusing the Senate president of never guaranteeing projects which represent minorities time to be debated in the Senate.
Although the Constitutional Court authorized euthanasia in Colombia in 1997, there is as yet no statutory legislation in place specifying the parameters of how doctors are permitted to carry out the procedure.
Sources
- Se hundió en Senado ley que reglamentaba la eutanasia (El Espectador)
- Se hundió proyecto de eutanasia en el Congreso (Caracol)
