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This Sunday, February 19, the citizens’ convention on the end of life came out in favor of an opening to “active assistance in dying”. But many questions remain unanswered.
While 26 French departments still do not have palliative care units, the citizens’ convention has decided: it has come out in favor of possible medical assistance, consisting for patients who wish to shorten their suffering, under certain conditions. .
For 84% voters, the end of life “does not respond to all situations”
Out of 180 citizens, 167 members expressed themselves on Sunday by secret ballot in the hemicycle of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE).
Nearly 75% of them voted for the opening of a “active assistance in dying” – i.e. 125 voters – while 32 voted “against” and 10 abstained.
A large majority (84%) also felt that “the end-of-life support framework does not respond to all the situations encountered“.
Euthanasia or assisted suicide?
While the vast majority of voters declared themselves in favor of both, assisted suicide (a situation in which a person performs the fatal act themselves) was favored by participants (72%).
Only 66% of voters indicated that they wanted to authorize euthanasia – an act intended to deliberately end the life of a person suffering from a serious and incurable disease, at their request, in order to put an end to a situation which she considers unbearable.
Even if the difference between euthanasia and assisted suicide is minor, it reflects a real fear of voters, in the face of patients whose wish to die would be ambivalent.
Faced with these numerous vaguenesses and questions, it remains to define many conditions.
Euthanasia, assisted suicide: minors could benefit
Regarding minors, 67% of members voted for “the opening of euthanasia to minors” and 56% were in favor of assisted suicide.
Nearly three quarters of citizens believe, however, that we should “set conditions“to the assisted death of the youngest.
In a column published by Le Figaro on February 16, 13 signatory organizations representing more than 800,000 caregivers delivered an ethical and practical opinion on the consequences of a potential legalization of euthanasia. A strong voice of caregivers who notably questions the notion of care and underlines their fears about the legalization of euthanasia.