Laura Laplaud
modified to
9:03 a.m., January 17, 2024
Having just been appointed Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity, Catherine Vautrin will have to quickly reveal her position on the sensitive end-of-life bill. Guest of La Grande interview Europe 1-CNews on Wednesday, she assured that the government “will have to legislate with a trembling hand”.
By being appointed head of a large ministry encompassing Labor and Health, Catherine Vautrin inherited the ultra-sensitive end-of-life bill. At the end of December, Emmanuel Macron mentioned the presentation of a text “in February” after the announcement “in January” of a ten-year strategic plan on palliative care.
During the transfer of power on Friday, Catherine Vautrin affirmed not to forget “this great subject of the end of life”, without saying more. Guest of La Grande interview Europe 1-CNews this Wednesday, the Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity assured that the government will have to legislate “with a trembling hand” but that she “had no difficulty with this subject”.
“Our society has evolved, we must accompany these developments with caution”
“There are two elements. There is a first element which is that of palliative care. There is a second subject, it is active assistance in dying. On this, I have no personal difficulty in address this subject. Obviously we will have to legislate with trembling hands because on subjects as important as this one, as Montesquieu said, we must be extremely vigilant. However, personally, I have no difficulties. Our society has evolved. We must accompany these developments with caution, of course, again with dialogue and respect,” she declared.
“We will have to work with a lot of listening, a lot of reflection and of course frame things,” added the minister, specifying that it will be necessary to respect the convictions of the medical community as well as those of the French.
70% of French people in favor of promoting active assistance in dying
According to an Ifop survey for the JDD published in April 2023, 70% of French people are in favor of the citizens’ convention’s proposal to promote active assistance in dying. The citizens’ convention on the end of life also voted last April for the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide.
What will be Emmanuel Macron’s position on the subject? The head of state, who seems undecided, said last December that he would “take the time” before presenting a bill on the end of life.