There are passages to elsewhere which are sometimes accompanied by a last message. The one left by former Secretary of State Paulette Guinchard-Kunstler is ethical and political. Suffering from an incurable disease, the former socialist deputy decided to die by resorting to medically assisted suicide on March 4 in Switzerland. In 2005, however, she was opposed to euthanasia being legalized in France, in a column published in The world.
For Olivier Falorni, Member of the Liberties and Territories group, “His courage in suffering and his way of assuming his changing point of view reminds us that there is an urgent need to legislate on the end of life, so that those who are condemned can choose”. While active euthanasia was legalized Thursday, March 18 in Spain, Mr. Falorni will bring in the hemicycle on April 8 a long-awaited bill on this subject. To defend it stands with him a parliamentary front of elected officials from all sides, from La France insoumise (LFI) to the Les Républicains party (LR).
The fight around the end of life is not new. On the other hand, it is gaining ground within the two parliamentary chambers. Since 2017 alone, four elected officials have tabled very similar bills: the “rebellious” Caroline Fiat (in 2017), the “walker” and chairman of the end-of-life reflection committee Jean-Louis Touraine (in 2017 ), Socialist Senator Marie-Pierre de La Gontrie (in 2020) and MP LR Marine Brenier (in 2020).
The debate infuses more and more, including within the conservative right. “The rejection of the socialist proposal in the Senate, by a narrow majority of 19 votes, on March 11, shows that a major change in opinion has taken place ”, supports Mme Brenier. If the union is made possible, it is because of a shared observation on the Claeys-Leonetti law, adopted in 2016, strengthening the 2005 law on passive euthanasia. “It is not enough. The text has certainly allowed progress, but it has not given its voice to the patient, leaving aside a number of sufferings ”, summarizes M. Touraine, professor of medicine.
The very favorable opinion
To convince of the need to change the legislation, elected officials first present the figures which show very strong public support for the principle of active euthanasia. “Ninety-six percent of French people say they are in favor of an evolution of the law in this area, beyond the political and religious considerations of each”, advanced Marie-Pierre de La Gontrie, after a 2019 Ipsos survey.
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