French MPs are examining a bill on active assistance in dying. A project which goes too far for some, who fear the legalization of assisted dying, and not far enough for others, in favor of euthanasia. With the bill on “active assistance in dying” currently being examined in France, a societal change is looming: neither euthanasia nor assisted suicide, we would find ourselves between the two, with part of the text on the development of palliative care, and the other which will be highly debated on active assistance in dying.
Cold words, in a legal text, when the reality in contact with people who suffer is complex and sensitive.
How can we support with dignity these people like those who suffer from Charcot’s disease, which inexorably ends in suffocation, or other illnesses such as cancer or accidents which cause excruciating suffering?
What dilemma do caregivers face, and how do religious faiths, particularly the Catholic Church, approach these situations when it comes to death?
Our reporter Maxime Grember went to the Roubaix Hospital Center in the north of France, and to Belgium with spiritual guides, a country where the law on euthanasia came into force in 2002, just a few months ago. 22 years old.
Report at the Roubaix Hospital Center / Maxime Grember
– Dr Katia Hebbar-Savean, head of the palliative care department
– Dr François Guillemot, retired gastroenterologist
– Thanks: Bernard Avril.
Bill relating to support for the sick and those at the end of life
Interview with Mgr Vincent Jordy, Bishop of Tours, vice-president of the CEF (Conference of Bishops of France), one of the CEF spokespersons on end of life.
Report in Belgium with spiritual guides / Maxime Grember
– Marie-Thérèse Hautier, spiritual guide at the Saint-Luc University Clinics in Brussels
– Gabriel Ringlet, Catholic priest, spiritual guide, writer, theologian, author of “ You will lay me naked on the bare earth. Spiritual accompaniment until euthanasia », Albin Michel
Belgian law on the ADMD Belgium website (Association for the right to die with dignity).