After being diagnosed with Charcot’s disease, Philippe Bail, 72, and former general practitioner, changed his mind about euthanasia. He gave a poignant testimony.
Euthanasia is at the heart of the debate. While the government must table a bill on the end of life during the month of February, Philippe Bail, 72 years old, and former general practitioner, gave a testimony in his work entitled Faithful as a shadow, published by L’Harmattan. Five years ago, this Breton was diagnosed with Charcot disease, an incurable pathology that affects the muscles and leads to death by asphyxiation. A sickness which made him change his mind on euthanasia and, he now pleads for a right to choose the moment of his death. By publishing this book, he wishes to change the way we look at illness, dependence and the end of life.
In his story, Philippe Bail explains that, when he worked as a doctor, he systematically refused to provoke “death deliberately”as reported France Info. “I committed to remaining their doctor until the end and I managed to ease their suffering by my visits and by my mastery of opioids and analgesics”, explains the retired doctor.
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“We must respect the wishes of the patient”
If he had a rather strong opinion on the question of euthanasia, the diagnosis of his illness in 2019 then made him change his mind on the subject and on assisted suicide. “As a doctor, I defended the principle that every life is worth living. I don’t deny it, but I understood something else as a patient.”, he emphasizes. “Dignity is above all a personal matter. We must respect the wishes of the patient, their autonomy, their choice”, he assures.
Philippe Bail therefore wishes decide when to die. He will then be able to request that his artificial respirator be stopped, which will plunge him into a final coma. This will allow him not to suffer from the asphyxiation that awaits him. He will benefit fromdeep and continuous sedation, maintained until deatha practice enshrined in law for situations involving short-term vital prognosis. A “guarantee of ultimate freedom” who relieved this former doctor “of the anguish of dying” and allowed him to “devote to [sa] hunger to live”.
If his family is ready to let him go whenever he wants, his wife Chantal confides: “It will be a loss, a great sadness, but it will have been a blessing to live together in recent years..” Despite his wish to change the way we view illness and the end of life, Philippe Bail does not want to move too quickly.“Illness is an experience that can be worth living, he concludes. Even if I campaign for our end to be ours, we must not rush.“ A poignant testimony.
Pauline has been writing for the Auféminin site for many months now. She enjoys deciphering current events as much as telling the latest stories about your favorite people. When she’s not looking…