Argentine Senate approves

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentina's senate has overwhelmingly approved a "dignified death" law that aims to give terminally ill patients and their families more power to decide how they spend their final days.

The law passed by a vote 55 to zero, with 17 senators absent.

Now Argentine families won't have to struggle to find judges to order doctors to end life-support for people who are dying or in a permanent vegetative state. Getting such approval can be very difficult in many countries, particularly in Latin America, where opposition from the Roman Catholic church still runs strong.