“It is not an easy task that has been entrusted to you,” the French leader admitted on Friday in Paris in front of around 200 French people drawn by lot to debate the very sensitive issue of the end of life, marked by important political events and social divisions .
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The issue has fueled debates in France in recent years, given high-profile cases or the example of other European countries that have approved strictly supervised active euthanasia (Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, etc.).
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne therefore called for a “reflection on nuances and responsibility” on the subject. “Be free” “to emancipate yourself from accepted ideas, to express your doubts, your disagreements,” she said.
Even if the terms “euthanasia” or “assisted suicide” are not explicitly mentioned, participants will consider whether to legalize one or the other.
And in March they will decide whether or not to change the current law, with no guarantee of compliance, based on this question: “Is the framework for end-of-life support adapted to the different situations or should changes be introduced? ‘.
“Answering this question will lead you to discuss many issues,” such as access to palliative care, ethical requirements, or bereavement support, stressed Ms. Borne.
President Emmanuel Macron had asked for this congress to be held in September, organized along the lines of what had met in 2019 and 2020 on climate. The head of state, who at first seemed very willing to “move” at the end of life. She seemed to be on the retreat lately.
Politically, the entire left is campaigning for a change in the law in the name of a “dignified end to life” and the freedom to choose death when suffering from a terminal illness becomes unbearable.
The right and the extreme right are hostile to it, sometimes fearing the risk of “euthanasia being played down” and calling for better application of the law and palliative care.
For the presidential majority, the position at the end of life is more uncertain.
From a religious perspective, the Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim cults have expressed a “set of common concerns” in recent weeks, while warning that it is not a matter of “presenting a political united front, who wants to impose themselves”.
In principle, everyone initially insists on increased development of palliative care and an evaluation of the applicable law.
Nurses are divided, mostly even opposed or concerned about the possible legalization of active euthanasia.
“The medical decision is of course central, but it is only one aspect of the debate,” said the head of government.
“End of life is also a human problem, a requirement of anticipation, of support, of caring ethics. So in your exchange, try to constantly accept the questions in their totality and their uniqueness, to put yourself in the other person’s position,” she urged.
The current Claeys-Leonetti law, the latest version of which dates from 2016, provides for “deep sedation” for terminally ill patients with uncontrollable suffering, but does not allow euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Should this framework be changed? The French drawn by lot will consider it in view of an opinion from the National Advisory Committee on Ethics (CCNE) to be issued in September.
This organization, whose opinions do not have the force of law but serve as a reference for public policy, considered it possible for the first time to legalize “active euthanasia”, but under numerous conditions and without the unanimity of its members.
Whether the Citizens’ Convention will go this route and whether its proposals will be taken up by the government or parliamentarians is currently not foreseeable.