(Euthanasia Prevention Coalition) — A Franceinfo radio news interview on August 14 with Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, the government minister responsible for health professions, stated that “all avenues are open” as the French government drafts a new end-of-life law that will be presented to Emmanuel Macron at the end of the summer.
Le Bodo stated that she did not want to use the terms euthanasia and assisted suicide. The report stated:
[S]he did not want the terms ‘euthanasia’ and ‘assisted suicide’ to appear in the law. They do not seem to be retained by the minister to date: ‘For the moment, no, I say well for the moment. Having the word death is important. Active aid in dying, for example, contains the word death,’ she underlined. A vital prognosis of less than a year and ‘refractory’ suffering as conditions. [Google translated]
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Le Bodo then states what criteria are being proposed for euthanasia:
To obtain active assistance in dying, the patient must meet several eligibility criteria. The person’s prognosis must be initiated within ‘between 6 and 12 months,’ according to the first tracks of the government… The patient must ‘be of legal age, a prerequisite laid down by the Citizens’ Convention and the President of the Republic in his speech of April 3,’ said Agnès Firmin Le Bodo. It will also be necessary that the ‘sufferings’ of the patient is ‘refractory,’ that is to say that the treatments or the care provided are no longer sufficient to appease the patient. Finally, the patient will have to express a free and enlightened will.’ The government is considering ‘several possibilities’ for ‘people who could not physically express’ this request, she said. [Google translated]
Le Bodo expressed support for conscience rights for medical professionals but she didn’t stipulate the conditions. The report stated:
For Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, the creation of a specific conscience clause ‘seems almost natural and obvious.’ The latter ‘invites and encourages the professional who does not wish to enter into this process with his patient to have to designate a professional who would agree to initiate the process.’ [Google translated]
France needs to examine the reality of euthanasia in Canada and reject it’s legalization.
Reprinted with permission from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition.