“France shows culpable and even cruel hypocrisy“by not legalizing active assistance in dying, says this Sunday, August 21 on franceinfo Olivier Falorni. forum on the subject in the JDD with actress Line Renaud.
In the column co-written with Line Renaud, you affirm that by “refusing until now to legalize any active assistance in dying, France is showing great hypocrisy”. Why ?
Yes, France is showing culpable and even cruel hypocrisy. Because today, unlike some of its neighbors such as Belgium or Spain, France continues to ignore a major societal issue that concerns the French. Unfortunately, each family has been confronted with situations of cruel agony, without hope of recovery. And French law does not respond to this situation, which is unbearable.
During the presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron said he was in favor of moving towards the Belgian system…
I am delighted that he came out very clearly in favor of this development. Belgian law is more than 20 years old and no one questions it anymore.
“Today, to die peacefully, many French people have to go abroad or have to benefit from clandestine euthanasia, which is practiced every year in the greatest secrecy. And that is not tolerable”.
Olivier Falorni, miscellaneous left deputyat franceinfo
There is still the Claeys-Leonetti law, which allows patients at the end of life to stop their treatment and benefit from deep and continuous sedation until death…
Indeed, the Claeys-Leonetti law provides for deep and continuous sedation, which amounts in some way to plunging the patient into an artificial coma. And finally, we wait for death slowly. Because you have to know that behind the cessation of treatments, there is the cessation of hydration and nutrition. And when you stop feeding and hydrating someone, you kill them by definition. Except that you make him die by inflicting sometimes endless agony on him. We can no longer accept it.
What limits should be placed on this active assistance in dying?
That is the whole purpose of the law, which is there to protect. In the text that I propose, it is the will of the patient alone that decides, according to strictly established criteria. You must be suffering from a serious and incurable disease, without hope of cure. It is a law of freedom, a law of respectful dignity of the human being. And I obviously hope that it can be registered in Parliament as soon as possible.
Do you think the French are ready for this change in society?
I’m convinced. All the opinion polls show this, beyond age, socio-professional categories or religious questions.
“Nine out of ten French people say that they are in favor of the right to active assistance in dying, that is to say that they wish to be able to control their destiny when the hope of recovery has disappeared”.
Olivier Falorni, miscellaneous left deputyat franceinfo
This is a major social issue today, and the French cannot wait any longer.