NOTWe, women and men in the health, social, care and research professions, wish to place the President of the Republic and his government before their immense responsibility, and to alert all of our fellow citizens to the health and social consequences of vote on the “immigration” law on December 19. This is particularly so that all officials and ministers take action, as Aurélien Rousseau courageously did. [le ministre de la santé a présenté sa démission à la suite du vote de la loi]dramatic effects of their decisions.
Let us first recall the fundamental principles of our Republic, set out in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights”And “the aim of all political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man”. These rights include the right to health, “state of complete physical and mental well-being”according to the definition of the World Health Organization, which requires dignified living conditions.
For the whole world, France is not only the country of human rights, but also that of “French doctors” and effective and humanitarian medicine, present everywhere at the bedside of sick populations and victims of wars and crises. Our health system and our universal social security have made it possible, for decades, to offer high-quality care accessible to all. The “immigration” law seriously calls into question our humanist health model, and not only because of the threats that still hang over state medical aid (AME).
We would first like to say the consequences of the measures announced for the health of the most vulnerable, children. In accordance with Unicef alertsthe text voted by Parliament is contrary to the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, protecting family life and guaranteeing the principle of non-separation, due to several measures: limitation of family reunification, complication of administrative procedures necessary for unaccompanied minors protected by child welfare, limitation of emergency accommodation, and threats to care in the event of restriction of AME.
The risk of a deterioration in infant mortality
Concretely, aid becomes conditional on recognition of work and, even in this case, its allocation will be considerably delayed. The loss of family allowances and measures restricting housing assistance for people who are unemployed or working informally therefore mean that they will not benefit from any assistance, particularly for raising their children or finding accommodation. We can then fear an intolerable deterioration in infant mortality, which has already increased over the past ten years in France and has become higher than that of our European neighbors, due in particular to social inequalities.
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