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What it is

Bill to guarantee a dignified, pain-free end of life

Admitted step 2 of 7 · Unfinished

It is a members’ bill. Introduced by parliamentary groups, the Senate, regional governments or citizens. It was introduced on 10 February 2020. Introduced by: Grupo Parlamentario Popular en el Congreso.

Official title: Private member's bill on the rights and guarantees of human dignity in the final process of life.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 122/000030· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The bill would regulate the rights of people at the end of their life, the duties of healthcare staff, and the guarantees that public bodies and health and social care centers must provide.
  2. It would recognize the right to clear information about one's health, to grant prior instructions (known as a living will) and to refuse treatments, even if this could put one's life at risk.
  3. It would guarantee quality palliative care, including palliative sedation even if it shortens life, and the right to receive this care at home if desired.
  4. It would give the right to be accompanied by family and loved ones, to receive religious or spiritual care according to one's beliefs, and to say goodbye to loved ones if receiving palliative sedation.
  5. It would require health professionals to respect the patient's wishes, to adjust therapeutic effort and avoid futile treatment, and to receive training in palliative care.
  6. It would define minor, serious and very serious offenses, with penalties under the General Health Law, and allow one year for centers to provide single rooms.

Who it affects

  • People in a terminal condition or agony, and their families: They would gain new rights: information, decisions about treatments, palliative care, companionship and single rooms.
  • Health and social care professionals: They would have new duties: respect the patient's wishes, adjust therapeutic effort and train in palliative care.
  • Public and private health and social care centers: They would have to guarantee the rights, facilitate companionship and family support, and provide single rooms.
  • Public administrations: They would have to guarantee the rights, create model prior instruction forms and review the law every year.
  • Minors: They would have the right to age-appropriate information and to be accompanied by their parents during hospital stays.

Words worth knowing

Cuidados paliativos (palliative care)
Care aimed at controlling pain and other symptoms when the illness no longer responds to curative treatment.
Instrucciones previas (prior instructions, or living will)
A document in which an adult states in writing what care they want when they can no longer decide for themselves.
Sedación paliativa (palliative sedation)
Giving drugs to lower the patient's consciousness to relieve suffering that cannot be controlled any other way.
Obstinación terapéutica (therapeutic obstinacy)
Keeping up useless treatments that only prolong biological life with no chance of improvement; the text calls it bad clinical practice.
Adecuación del esfuerzo terapéutico (adjusting therapeutic effort)
Withdrawing, adjusting or not starting treatments when life expectancy is limited, while keeping palliative care.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 2 of 7 steps. It reached Admitted, and today it is unfinished.

  1. Introduced10 February 2020Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted18 February 2020The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendmentsnot reachedGroups propose changes.
  4. Committeenot reachedA committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenarynot reachedAll 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senatenot reachedThe Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOEnot reachedIt is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 6 official steps on a timeline
Dec 2020Dec 2021Dec 202211. 10 February 2020: Presentación22. 18 February 2020: Boletín Oficial de las Cortes Generales Publicación desde 18/02/2020 hasta 21/02/202033. 18 February 2020: Calificación44. 21 February 2020: Gobierno Contestación desde 21/02/2020 hasta 22/04/202055. 22 April 2020: Pleno Toma en consideración desde 22/04/2020 hasta 30/05/202366. 30 May 2023: Concluido - (Caducado) desde 30/05/2023 hasta 16/06/2023

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

The legislature ended before it finished. To go on, someone would have to introduce it again in the new Cortes.

It has not been presented again yet.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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