former deputy Alain Claeys, co-author of the Claeys-Leonetti law “favorable to co-production between the government and the legislator”

Alain Claeys, former socialist deputy and co-author of the Claeys-Leonetti law calls on Monday April 3 on franceinfo to “a co-production between the government and the legislator to develop a French model”after the conclusions made by the Citizens’ Convention on the end of life, according to him, “if we arrive at a bill, it must unite. It must not clash with each other”he adds.

franceinfo. What is your feeling about the holding of this Citizens’ Convention?

Alain Claeys. This Citizens’ Convention is to be welcomed both in form and in substance. The Citizens’ Convention has made a number of proposals on palliative care but also on active assistance in dying. This Convention has been respectful. All ideas have been expressed, they have been debated. On the method, too, I think this Convention, this work, like the work we did in the National Ethics Committee, like the evaluation of the 2016 law on deep and continuous sedation. All these elements are available to the executive and the legislator. I am in favor of co-production between the government and the legislator to develop a French model. If we arrive at a bill, it must bring people together and must not offend one or the other.

What is this new French model?

We need the solidarity of the nation, which is essential for the most fragile people at the end of life, hence the importance of palliative care, the support care that must be reinforced. Today there are 21 departments without an active palliative care unit. You need a ten-year plan. It takes money. The medical community as a whole must also be able to develop palliative care in hospitals, nursing homes, at home. Regarding the law that bears my name and that of Jean Leonetti, it must be better applied. This law does not regulate all end-of-life cases.

How far should you go?

The President of the Republic gave avenues that had already been mentioned by the National Ethics Committee, a framework concerning possible aid in dying by recalling the principles on the autonomy of the person and that this person is suffering from a incurable disease and whose vital prognosis can be engaged in the medium term. These are essential conditions if the legislator wants to legislate on this subject tomorrow. Co-construction responds perfectly to a subject like this with parliamentarians from the Senate, the National Assembly concerned who work according to the given objective and according to the opinions of the Citizens’ Convention which does not replace the deputies and senators but provide them with insights that may be useful to them.