Portugal’s parliament voted for the third time in just over a year to make euthanasia legal, though the country’s Constitutional Court or president could yet prevent the change from becoming law.

A bill that would permit euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide introduced by the governing center-left Socialist Party passed on a 128-88 vote, with five abstentions. Three other similar bills, from smaller center-left parties, carried by almost identical margins.

The four bills next go to a committee stage, where they likely will be blended into one, before being voted on again and sent to the head of state. That process could take months.

Portugal’s top court blocked a previous bill in March 2021, saying its wording was “imprecise.” In November, the president vetoed a second parliament-sanctioned bill.

He said further clarification was needed about whether the proposed law would apply only to incurable illnesses or whether it could be extended to fatal or serious illnesses.

But none of the four new bills addresses Rebelo de Sousa’s specific concerns. Instead, they attempt to simplify circumstances where euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are justified by referring to “a situation of intolerable suffering, with a definitive injury of extreme seriousness or a serious and incurable disease.”

Commentators say that omission is unlikely to assuage the president’s concerns.

Isabel Moreira, a Socialist lawmaker who championed the legislation, said the law “is an invitation to understand others: When in doubt, show tolerance.”