Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
From January 6, ten “priority issues” relating to assisted suicide legislation will be scrutinized by 200 French people.
They are only 200 privileged to have been chosen to examine ten “priority issues” dealing with the theme of the end of life, including the question of “extreme forms of mental suffering“.
The issues examined
Sunday, these some 200 French people drawn by lot and gathered at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese) “agreed on the first 10 priority issues on which they will work during the next sessions“, from January 6, 2023.
Among these priority issues are:initial and continuous training of medical and paramedical staff and accompanying persons“, “information for the general public” on existing devices, but also “the end-of-life economy“, including human and financial resources.
The question “silent, intolerable and intractable chronic physical pain that would not be treated by palliative care” will also be examined, in the same way as the “treatment of active assistance in dying for extreme forms of psychic (psychiatric) suffering“.
It will nevertheless be necessary to wait until March to know the final decision of this jury.
The main question being whether or not the end-of-life support framework is adapted to the different situations encountered or whether any changes should be introduced into the current law.
List of the 10 priority issues discussed during this citizens’ convention
- Issue 1: Full application of the Claeys-Leonetti law: the human and financial resources to be mobilized for full implementation of the support framework provided with regard to the demographic and economic context and its evolution.
- Issue 2: The legal obligation to provide appropriate and sufficient financial and human resources, to train and to require the establishment of health professionals throughout the territory and in all establishments.
- Issue 3: The initial and continuous training of medical, paramedical and accompanying personnel.
- Issue 4: Information for the general public (lack of knowledge of rights and of the support framework at the end of life, possibility of giving advance directives, wider awareness on the subject).
- Issue 5: Effective and real equality of access to palliative care, regardless of social category and territory
- Issue 6: Active assistance in dying: assisted suicide and euthanasia
- Issue 7: Acceptable/necessary exceptions to the Claeys-Leonetti law
- Issue 8: The end-of-life/death economy: human and financial resources, “benefits/savings”, what interests are at stake?
- Issue 9: What is the limit of palliative care? Are there chronic physical pains that are intolerable and intractable, silent, that would not be treated by palliative care?
- Issue 10: The treatment of active assistance in dying for extreme forms of psychic (psychiatric) suffering.
“We are delighted with the success of these first two sessions: they have enabled citizens to create a collective and demonstrated their strong interest and mobilization for this unprecedented exercise of participation around the end of life. This first phase allowed them to take ownership of the subject and to begin to meet different actors in the debate. Thanks to the votes, we will now be able to enter a new phase around the various prioritized themes, and which will allow each citizen to confront their ideas and points of view, with the requirement that has characterized them from the start.“, says Claire Thoury, President of the Governance Committee of the CESE Citizens’ Convention on the end of life.
These 10 priority issues do not exclude the study of other issues that have been determined by citizens, and which can be found on the site: https://conventioncitoyennesurlafindevie.lecese.fr
Citizens will meet for the third and first session of the deliberation phase on January 6, 7 and 8, 2023.