Euthanasia

Türkiye's top court has agreed to hear a case challenging a controversial law regulating the handling of stray dogs, following a petition by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

The CHP filed the application on Aug. 15, seeking to annul 16 of the 17 articles of the new law, which it argues violates constitutional protections for animal rights and the environment.

The Turkish parliament ratified a controversial bill regarding the handling of stray dogs early July 30 following hours-long debates amid criticism and protests.

The ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) 17-article proposal was endorsed by the general assembly after 28 hours of deliberation over two days, after it garnered commission approval last week.

A contentious bill regarding the handling of stray dogs has been approved by a parliamentary committee following a series of amendments.

The most debated change involved the fifth article of the bill, where the term "euthanasia" was removed.

Instead, a reference was made to the Veterinary Services Act, which still encompasses the same concept.

A parliamentary leader from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has stated that a new draft law concerning stray animals will focus on addressing aggressive animals that pose a risk of rabies.

Ecuador decriminalized euthanasia on Wednesday, becoming the second Latin American country to allow the procedure, in response to a lawsuit brought by a terminally ill patient.

With seven of its nine judges voting in favor, the country's Constitutional Court opened the door for doctors to help an untreatable patient die without going to jail.

A terminally ill baby at the center of a legal battle involving her parents, British health officials and the Italian government has died, a group supporting her family said Monday.

Christian Concern said Indi Gregory died in a hospice on Monday morning after her life support was withdrawn on Sunday.

Silver Thread, an association campaigning for dignified old age, has collected the required 5,000 signatures to submit a bill on assisted suicide to the National Assembly well before the deadline.

In its announcement on 5 June, the association said it expected the considerable support for the bill to send a clear message to decision-makers in the National Assembly.

Following years of calls and campaigning to allow terminally-ill people to end their suffering in a dignified way, an NGO has now been given 60 days to collect 5,000 signatures from voters to be able to table a bill legalising assisted suicide.

In the past two years, Spain, Austria, and New Zealand have made euthanasia and assisted suicide legal

Lawmakers in Spain have voted to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, making it only the fifth country globally to make the practice legal after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada.

The law will come into force in three months' time after the landmark vote passed in the lower house of the Spanish parliament by 202 votes to 141, with two abstentions.