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In the continuity of the current reflection on the right to a dignified end of life, 140 meetings will be organized across France by the end of March to allow everyone to discuss and learn.
The debate on the end of life should soon be held near you. In November 2018, the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE) and the regional ethical reflection spaces (ERER) announced the holding of information meetings on the end of life and in particular the holding of around forty events. It will be much more: the two authorities announced in a press release on January 16 a new initiative of 140 regional meetings until next March.
Go beyond simplifications and form an opinion
Exchanging points of view and gathering information will be at the heart of these meetings with citizens. This new form of collaboration, initiated on the occasion of the General States of Bioethics in 2018, strengthens the will and the capacities of the various partners to bring information and initiate dialogue as close as possible to people, whether they are professional, concerned or lay people. It is open to the general public, professionals, students and patients.
The stated objective is to go beyond simplifications, ideological or binary postures, and to address the complexity of the question of the end of life by giving everyone the means to form their own opinion. An important exchange when talking about a subject as sensitive as this one.
An exchange that must be impartial
For Dr. Alexis Burnod, head of the mobile palliative care team at the Institut Curie, the announcement of this public debate brought before the French people was long overdue. “Which in itself is a good thing, because it is a subject that requires debate, that we exchange, and that is everyone’s business.“
However, he hopes for a full exchange that involves and respects every need.
“The important thing is that in this debate, there is a certain impartiality, that the various opinions can be shared and heard, and that the actors who are closest to those whose lives are ending, the patients when it is possible, their relatives and caregivers have a place in this debate as witnesses. It doesn’t have to be just a biological question”
These meetings will continue throughout the territory, in parallel with a citizens’ convention on the end of life which began on December 9 and which will deliver its conclusions in March 2023 as well. The places, dates and speakers of the meetings can be found on www.ccne-ethique.fr.