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In a column published by Le Figaro on February 16, 13 signatory organizations representing more than 800,000 caregivers deliver 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, in this debate.
Not all caregivers are in favor of euthanasia and assisted suicide, far from it. While the Citizens’ Convention on the End of Life is preparing to deliver its conclusions in the coming weeks, 13 professional organizations representing more than 800,000 caregivers, including at least 500,000 nurses directly involved in the daily support of people at the end of life, made their fears and their opinion known in a column published by Le Figaro on Thursday, February 16.
Legalization that would threaten the most vulnerable
These caregivers, most of whom deal with end-of-life patients on a daily basis (in geriatrics, nursing homes, cancerology, palliative care, etc.), affirm above all that these practices, which directly involve caregivers, cannot in any way fall under the of care and alert the legislator to the threats that such a development would pose to vulnerable people. They thus detail 3 main axes, or problems, induced by such legalization:
- Vulnerable people for whom the imperative of autonomy is unsuitable will be directly threatened by the message that such legislation would send them: children, dependent people, people with psychiatric or cognitive disorders, people in a situation of great social insecurity;
- The deontological and legislative corpus defining and framing the care practice is incompatible with the implementation of euthanasia and medically assisted suicide;
- Consequently, these acts cannot in any way be considered as care, except to fundamentally subvert the definition.
“In a context of extreme fragility of our health system and structural questioning of its foundations, it appears that the urgency would be to be able to provide all citizens with quality care, including support people at the end of life. Considering the implementation of medically administered death as a priority in response to a societal demand would be likely to further weaken healthcare teams faced with complex decisions on a daily basis” they write.
“Giving death is not part of our definition of care”
For Dr. Alexis Burnod, palliative care doctor at the Institut Curie, and signatory of this forum with the SPAF (French Society for Palliative Care), it was important to give the floor back to caregivers, directly concerned by this euthanasia or suicide. assisted in discussions.
“Something has been underestimated in this debate. To tell caregivers that tomorrow they may have to inject a medicine that kills people is to forget that these people have chosen this profession to “treat”, that is to say to heal as much as possible, to always relieve, but not to kill people by appointment, even if they ask for it. The majority of caregivers in France who do this work have no desire to have to deal with this,” he recalls.
Instead, the doctor evokes a third way, proposed collectively, that of doing things better in the management of the end of life and giving themselves the means to do so.
“We are not just opposed to the legalization of euthanasia. But we have a proposal: to develop palliative culture, to develop solidarity a little more, to rethink care in France. Euthanasia is not a treatment, it is above all likely to become the way in which society pushes fragile or sick people to end their lives. However, I think there is better to offer in 2023 in France on the subject. We are ready to roll up our sleeves to find another way, which respects the dignity of these fragile people other than by killing them.”