It will be “neither a new right nor a freedom”, but a “possibility”, affirms the President of the Republic. After long months of reflection and several postponements, Emmanuel Macron unveiled his “French end-of-life model” on Sunday March 10. Planned for a year, this future bill includes “assisted dying” which should allow certain patients, under “strict conditions”, to receive a “lethal substance”, explains the Head of State in an interview with The cross And Release.
But what about our European neighbors where euthanasia also gives rise to lively public debates? On the Old Continent, only five countries have legalized “active euthanasia”, that is, that carried out by the medical profession. The first to get started, unsurprisingly, were the Netherlands. In 2001, the northern European state chose to decriminalize euthanasia and assisted suicide.
In theory, both processes remain officially a crime in the Netherlands. What has changed: a decree ensures that doctors practicing it within a strict framework and in specific circumstances cannot be prosecuted. How it works ? The patient makes the request himself and puts it in writing. For it to be admissible, he must suffer from an incurable illness. Please note that doctors maintain a conscience clause and may not cooperate with this euthanasia for personal reasons.
In 2022, local authorities witnessed a boom in the practice: “Euthanasia accounted for 1 in 20 deaths last year in the Netherlands,” according to the NL Times. And they even decided to go further: they took a new step, in April 2023, by opening the right to euthanasia to children under 12 who suffer from incurable illnesses leading to inevitable imminent death.
Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain…
Still in northern Europe, Belgium also legalized euthanasia on September 22, 2002. The Belgian government has extended it, since 2014, to minors in a hopeless medical situation. A world first. If we want to benefit from the right to die, the patient must have all his judgment when making his request and his pathology must be serious and incurable. Same thing in Luxembourg. Authorized since 2009, euthanasia can only be used when adults are in a hopeless medical situation.
In 2022, Spain also gave the green light to euthanasia. The patient must be of legal age, of Spanish nationality or residing in the territory for more than twelve months and suffering from an incurable illness. After Madrid, its Portuguese neighbor decriminalized active euthanasia on May 16, 2023. The process was tortuous, because the Parliament, with a socialist majority, voted four times in favor of this legislation. But parliamentarians had to come up against several vetoes from the head of state, a conservative and practicing Catholic who twice referred the law to the Constitutional Court. Each time, the deputies had to review their copy.
In the event of an irreversible illness causing unbearable pain that is impossible to relieve, the patient may request assisted suicide. This claim must be validated by two doctors plus a specialist in the disease from which the patient suffers. But the right to euthanasia remains very limited, since it will only be permitted if “medically assisted suicide is impossible due to the patient’s physical incapacity”. The law was due to come into force in October 2023.
Passive euthanasia authorized in several countries
In Switzerland, although euthanasia is prohibited, medically assisted suicide is tolerated. Discernment and the ability to self-administer the lethal liquid, prescribed by a doctor, are the major criteria. Another condition: that the person who accompanies the person who wants to die must not be motivated by a “selfish motive”. For example, wanting to recover an inheritance. In the Swiss Republic, medical assistance in suicide has been in force since 1942.
In Austria, since January 1, 2022, assisted suicide has been decriminalized. This is limited to seriously ill and terminally ill people, minors being excluded from the regulations. Same in Germany and Italy. In Greece, the law tolerates passive euthanasia as in Hungary. Patients have the right to refuse treatment when the illness will lead to death in the short term. But here too, a medical committee must rule on the admissibility of the request. In Slovenia, the patient has the right to do everything possible to eliminate or alleviate their pain and other suffering related to their illness.