Assisted dying in Portugal
Portugal has legally recognised the right to medically assisted death through Law 22/2023, though the law has never come into force: it still awaits regulations, and the Constitutional Court struck down parts of it in 2025.
- Where the law stands
- Legal (In Limbo)
- Who can ask
- Adults (18+)
- Condition
- Serious Incurable Illness or Injury
- Residency
- Citizens & Legal Residents
What you need to know.
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Legal Status: Legal (In Limbo)
The Law on Medically Assisted Death was published in May 2023, but it has never come into force. The Government never approved the regulations it needs, and in April 2025 the Constitutional Court struck down six of its provisions, including the core article setting out when medically assisted death is not punishable. Until Parliament amends the law, no procedures can take place.
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Key Legislation: Law No. 22/2023
Law No. 22/2023 of 25 May regulates the conditions under which medically assisted death is not punishable. Constitutional Court Ruling 307/2025 declared parts of it unconstitutional.
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Eligibility
The law allows Portuguese nationals or legal residents who are adults, capable, and suffering “of great intensity” due to a serious and incurable disease or a definitive injury of extreme gravity.
Summary
Portugal’s path to legalisation has been one of the most complex in Europe, characterised by a prolonged “ping-pong” between the Parliament, the President and the Constitutional Court. After five parliamentary votes and four presidential vetoes, Law 22/2023 was finally promulgated by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in May 2023.
However, as of October 2026, the law is still not operational. It needed regulations from the Government, which were never approved. Meanwhile a group of PSD MPs (in 2023) and the Ombudsperson (in 2024) asked the Constitutional Court to review it. In April 2025 the Court ruled that the Constitution neither requires nor forbids assisted dying, and that most of the law is constitutional. But it struck down six provisions: those on how the method of death is chosen, the lack of a requirement for the specialist doctor to examine the patient, the rule making objecting health professionals give their reasons, and, as a consequence, the core article setting out when medically assisted death is not punishable.
The Government has said there is no legal certainty to regulate the law as it stands. No bill to amend it has been put to Parliament since the ruling.
Quick Overview
In Portugal, a law to legalise was passed but is yet to be implemented.
The Portuguese framework introduces an unusual distinction in European law: it prioritises assisted dying (where the patient takes the medication themselves) over physician assisted dying (where a doctor administers it).
Under the law, physician assisted dying is only permitted as a “subsidiary” method, meaning a doctor can only administer the lethal drug if the patient is physically unable to do so themselves (for example, due to paralysis). How the method is chosen became a central point of contention in the Constitutional Court, which found that the law contradicted itself on whether the patient or the doctor decides. Until Parliament amends the law and the Government approves the regulations, no procedures can legally take place.
Contact Direito a Morrer com Dignidade (World Federation Member) for more info
Law No. 22/2023 (in Portuguese)
Regulates the conditions under which medically assisted death is not punishable, and amends the Penal Code. Published on 25 May 2023, but never brought into force.
Constitutional Court Ruling 307/2025 (in Portuguese)
Issued on 22 April 2025. It declared six provisions of Law 22/2023 unconstitutional, while finding most of the law compatible with the Constitution.
How the law came about.
The “long road” to legalisation in Portugal has been defined by persistence in the face of institutional resistance.
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February 2020
First approval
The Assembly of the Republic approved five bills to decriminalise medically assisted death, from the Socialist Party, Left Bloc, PAN, the Greens and Liberal Initiative.
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2021–2023
Vetoes and the Constitutional Court
Between 2021 and 2023 the Assembly of the Republic passed the law five times. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative Catholic, used his powers extensively. He sent it to the Constitutional Court twice for preventive review, and the Court struck it down both times (in March 2021 and January 2023), citing imprecise concepts such as “definitive injury of extreme gravity” and the definition of suffering. He also vetoed it twice on political grounds (in November 2021 and April 2023).
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May 2023
Promulgation
Parliament confirmed the law over the President’s final veto by 129 votes to 81, with the support of the Socialist Party, Liberal Initiative, the Left Bloc, PAN and Livre. The President was then constitutionally obliged to sign it, and Law 22/2023 was published on 25 May 2023.
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2023–2024
Regulations and review requests
The law needed regulations from the Government to become operational, but the outgoing Socialist Government left them to its successor. In November 2023 a group of PSD MPs asked the Constitutional Court to review the law, and the Ombudsperson made a second request in March 2024.
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April 2025
Ruling 307/2025
The Constitutional Court ruled that assisted dying is not unconstitutional in principle, but declared six provisions unconstitutional, including those on choosing between assisted suicide and euthanasia, the specialist doctor’s role, conscientious objection, and the core article on when medically assisted death is not punishable. This effectively sent the law back to Parliament for amendment.
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2026
Stalemate
The Government said there was no legal certainty to regulate the law as it stands. Liberal Initiative and the Left Bloc said they were open to revising it, while the Socialist Party, Livre and the PCP said the Government should regulate it as it is. Chega called for a referendum.
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Today
Current Situation
As of October 2026, no one can receive medically assisted death in Portugal. No bill to amend the law has been put to Parliament, and the regulations have not been approved.
Who is Eligible?
(Criteria under Law 22/2023)
If the law is amended and brought into force, eligibility will be strictly limited to:
- Residency: Portuguese nationals or foreigners legally residing in Portugal. (Expressly excludes “medical tourism”.)
- Age: adults (18+).
- Capacity: the patient must be mentally capable and conscious at the time of the request. (Patients with dementia or those who have lost consciousness are excluded; advance directives/living wills do not apply to requests for assisted death.)
- Condition:
- a serious and incurable disease; or
- a definitive injury of extreme gravity.
- Suffering: suffering “of great intensity” (physical or psychological).
- Method:
- Assisted dying (priority): the standard method.
- Physician assisted dying (exception): permitted only if the patient is physically unable to self-administer.
In 2025 the Constitutional Court struck down the provisions on how the method is chosen, so these rules will have to be rewritten by Parliament.
Our members in Portugal.
Member societies of the World Federation working for the right to die in Portugal.
More country profiles
- Austria Legal
- Belgium Legal
- France Legal
- Germany Legal (Ruling)
- Ireland Illegal (no active bill)
- Italy Decriminalised (Court Ruling)
- Netherlands Legal
- Norway Illegal
- Spain Legal
- Switzerland Decriminalized
- United Kingdom Illegal (no active bill)
- Australia Legal
- Canada Legal (Federal)
- Colombia Decriminalized
- Cuba Decriminalised (regulations pending)
- Ecuador Decriminalized
- New Zealand Legal
- United States Legal (State Level)
- Uruguay Legal