Jacques Serais / Photo credits: MUSTAFA YALCIN / ANADOLU / ANADOLU VIA AFP
In a provisional version of the end-of-life text, on which the government is working, the executive would open the door to assisted suicide and euthanasia, without taking into account the limits set by caregivers. Even if the latter is far from being definitive, it once again reveals the ambiguities of the head of state on the thorny question of the “right to die”.
“Does my death belong to me? I’m not sure I have the answer,” Emmanuel Macron asked last year after a meeting with the Pope at the Vatican. A year later, the tenant of the Élysée still seems to be asking the question. The end-of-life bill is still being written and should be presented in February. In a provisional version of the text, which leaked to the press, the executive would open the door to assisted suicide and euthanasia… without taking into account the limits set by caregivers. An example among others which once again reveals the ambiguities of the Head of State on the issue.
“Giving death is not treatment”
And the Minister responsible for Territorial Organization and Health Professions, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, tries to answer it for her. She is the one who is working on the drafting of the bill. Moreover, the choice of words reveals a bias, but always maintaining vagueness. The text prefers to speak of “assisted dying” rather than “euthanasia”. However, this is with the possibility of the assistance of caregivers. “A doctor, a nurse” or a “relative” could intervene when the patient “is not physically able” to administer the lethal dose.
“This is a legalization of euthanasia, quite simply,” criticizes Claire Fourcade, the president of the French Society for Support and Palliative Care. 18 caregiver organizations expressed their concern and dismay in a press release. “Delivering death is not treatment,” they said.