Macron announces assisted dying bill to go before French parliament in May
Emmanuel Macron has said a bill on assisted dying has been drafted and will go before the French parliament in May.
The legislation would enable doctors to prescribe a lethal substance to those in full control of their faculties but suffering incurable illnesses whose pain cannot be relieved.
It would be done under strict control and not be available to minors or those suffering from neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and, dementia, or psychiatric illnesses.
In an interview with Libération and the Catholic newspaper La Croix at the weekend, the French president said the bill showed people were “facing up to death” and that it would “reconcile the autonomy of the individual and the solidarity of the nation”.
“Strictly speaking, it does not create either a new right or a new freedom, but sets out a path that did not exist before, opening up the possibility of requesting assistance in dying under certain strict conditions,” Macron said.
However, Macron faced criticism from the Catholic church and French medical workers over the draft bill, which comes shortly after the French parliament enshrined the right to abortion in the country’s constitution.
Dr Claire Fourcade, president of the French society for palliative support and care, said Macron was proposing a bill for “medically assisted suicide”.
“For us, the carers, this bill is a source of immense concern. Today in France, 500 people die every day without having had access to palliative care when they needed to be alleviated [of pain]. It seems to us that the urgent thing is to support all these people,” Fourcade told FranceInfo radio.
The draft law, which follows a lengthy public consultation, will avoid the term “euthanasia” and “assisted suicide” and strengthen palliative care, Macron said. If doctors consent, the lethal substance would be administered by the patient themselves or with the help of a third party if they were physically unable to do so.
“We’ve chosen the term ‘assisted dying’ because it’s simple, humane and well defined. The term euthanasia refers to ending someone’s life with or without their consent, which is obviously not the case here. Nor is it assisted suicide, which corresponds to a person’s free and unconditional choice to dispose of their life,” Macron added.
“The new framework proposes a possible path, in a given situation, with precise criteria, where the medical decision has its role to play.”
French law allows for the “deep and continuous sedation” of patients who would otherwise endure great suffering and with a short life expectancy.
Updating the rules on end-of-life care was one of Macron’s 2017 presidential campaign promises. A conference of randomly selected people was set up to deliberate on the subject and issued advice last year that assisted dying should be allowed under certain conditions.
Polls suggest about 70% of French people support the proposed end-of-life legislation.
The draft bill enshrines four criteria: patients must be over 18 and be “of full discernment”; have “an incurable disease with a short or medium term life-threatening prognosis”; and enduring physical or psychological suffering that cannot be relieved.
A patient making the request would be given two days after submitting it to confirm their wish and then receive a response within 15 days. If approved, a prescription for the lethal substance and valid for three months would be issued. The patient could withdraw the request at any time.
The bill will be presented to the council of ministers at the end of March and receive its first reading in the assemblée nationale in May.
France’s proposed legislation follows moves in other European countries to legalise assisted dying.
The Netherlands legalised euthanasia in 2002 for patients who make the request while in full possession of their faculties and suffering unbearable pain from an incurable condition. It extended this to patients with severe dementia and to terminally ill children in 2020. Belgium allows euthanasia under similar conditions.
An all-party parliamentary committee in Ireland is expected to recommend legislation to allow for assisted dying if a person has a terminal illness or only between six and 12 months to live. The committee’s report is to be published on 20 March but has been agreed by a majority of representatives from all sides of the Irish parliament. After its publication it will go to government for further consideration.
Last month, British MPs cautioned that laws to allow assisted dying could pass in Scotland, Jersey and the Isle of Man in the next few years, leading to a divergence between different parts of the UK.