Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Feb 23, 2008 / 23:12 pm
The Luxembourg parliament has narrowly approved a bill that would legalize euthanasia and allow doctors to help patients commit suicide, Agence France-Presse reports.
Thirty of the fifty-nine lawmakers voted in favor of the bill, with nearly all the members of Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker’s Social Christian Party voting in opposition to the bill.
The bill must be approved at a second reading before it can take effect.
"This bill is not a permit to kill," said Socialist lawmaker Lydie Err, who helped draft the legislation.
"It's not a law for the parents or the doctors but for the patient and the patient alone to decide if he wants to put an end to his suffering," she added.