First change: 09/12/2022 – 11:58
Three years ago, the French government launched a new “Citizens’ Convention” modeled on the climate convention. Starting this Friday, around two hundred citizens chosen by lottery will spend several weeks debating a sensitive issue that divides the French: whether it is appropriate to change the law that has regulated euthanasia since 2016.
The government wants to hear the advice of these citizens on whether or not to amend the 2016 Claeys-Leonetti law, which allows incurable patients continuous deep sedation until death when vital prognosis is compromised in the short term and the suffering is unbearable, but it prohibits active euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Specifically, the Convention has to answer the following question: “Is the current framework for end-of-life surveillance adapted to the different situations that may arise, or should some changes be introduced?”
The terms “euthanasia” or “assisted suicide” are not explicitly mentioned, but participants will certainly discuss the possibility of legalizing one or the other.
Starting this Friday, the 173 members of the “Citizens’ Convention” will meet in nine three-day sessions before presenting their conclusions to the government in March. They were chosen by lot, from different age groups and regions of France, their number could increase a little in the coming days.
Congress participants will be trained in the debates on euthanasia. They also meet with professionals on ethical or religious issues, with caregivers, especially those who accompany people at the end of life in palliative care units.
You will also study the legislation of other countries, some of which, like Belgium and Switzerland, have legalized euthanasia to varying degrees.
A government spokesman specified that citizens will not make the law, but their conclusions will be the cornerstone for debates on the issue.
Convention members will present their conclusions in March, but there is no guarantee that they will be taken into account. For example, only a few recommendations were passed at the Citizens’ Climate Convention.
For his part, President Macron was initially willing to make a change, while now he appears more reluctant. In any case, the President will not attend the inauguration of the Convention and the Prime Minister will attend instead.