A big upheaval. L'” balance “, praised by the government, of the bill relating to the support of the sick and the end of life was seriously shaken during the vote on article 6 of the text, adopted Friday June 7, by 51 votes against 24, on first reading in the National Assembly. The heart of the reactor of the government text, this article sets out the five cumulative conditions for access to “assisted dying”. The deputies rewrote two of them and strongly contested a third, considering that they resulted in excluding patients who should be able to claim them.
Pressed by Emmanuel Macron to defend the initial version of the text as much as possible, Catherine Vautrin did not succeed. The Minister of Health had to make concessions to part of the presidential camp favorable to a wider opening to assisted dying. The offensive, carried out with the reinforcement of the ranks of the left, was also able to count on the general rapporteur of the text, Olivier Falorni, deputy (Democrat, Charente-Maritime).
Among the five cumulative conditions for access to “assisted dying”, the first two were maintained, despite some attempts to call them into question. The one that requires you to be “at least 18 years old” sparked a brief attempt by some Renaissance and left-wing MPs to lower the age barrier to 16. “Be of French nationality or reside stably and regularly in France” was maintained, despite complaints about the exclusion of foreigners.
Internal battle in the presidential camp
The shootout focused on the third condition. A person can request “assisted death” “suffering from a serious and incurable condition in the advanced or terminal phase”. In the special committee, prior to the examination in session, the deputies had excluded from this paragraph of article 6 the obligation, included in the text of the executive, made to the doctor to establish “a vital prognosis in the short or medium term”.
A majority of deputies recalled that doctors are almost unanimous in saying that it is impossible to predict with certainty the remaining life of an incurable patient, unless he is on the verge of death. The president of the special commission, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo (Horizons, Seine-Maritime), and Mme Vautrin were then opposed to it. General rapporteur of the text, Olivier Falorni, on the contrary, supported this rewriting.
Thursday, in the Hemicycle, Mme Vautrin attempted to reestablish the “short or medium term prognosis” (six to twelve months) in the text. The amendment she tabled was rejected by 76 votes to 24. Only eleven Renaissance deputies voted for, 24 against. Found themselves on the M lineme Vautrin, two co-rapporteurs of the text, Laurence Cristol (Renaissance, Hérault) and Caroline Fiat (La France insoumise [LFI]Meurthe-et-Moselle).
You have 66.3% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.