former members of the citizens’ convention on the end of life urge Emmanuel Macron to present his bill “quickly”

In an open letter, an association representing 81 ex-participants criticizes the Head of State for not having yet “kept” his commitments in favor of palliative care and active assistance in dying.

She has been watching for the white smoke for months, in vain. In an open letter consulted by franceinfo, an association bringing together 81 former members of the citizens’ convention on the end of life calls on the Head of State, Saturday December 9, to “the rapid presentation of the bill” promised for the end of last summer. Presidential commitments for palliative care and active assistance in dying “have still not been fulfilled”she laments, while the executive has just postponed the presentation of the text until the end of February.

“Mr. President, your opinion (…) is important, but cannot be the only compass in this matter”write these citizens, one year to the day after the start of their work and eight months after submitting their report to Emmanuel Macron. “It’s time to let the national representation take up this subject”, they urge. Citizens say they are relaying for sick people, eaten away by “impatience” And “anxiety”who are waiting to access quality palliative care or active assistance in dying.

Beyond the urgency to act, the former “conventionalists” express concern about the content of the bill. “We are very worried about the future of our own recommendations”they write, fearing a text “very distant” of their recommendations. “If the executive only opens the way to assisted suicide, the account will not be there”, warns one of the authors of the letter, Martial Breton, contacted by franceinfo. In their report, citizens were 40% in favor of a free choice between assisted suicide and euthanasia, 28% in favor of assisted suicide with an exception for euthanasia reserved for certain patients, 18% against any active assistance in dying and 10% for assisted suicide alone. “We also wonder about the resources that will really be devoted to palliative care”adds Martiel Breton.

An uncertain future for citizens’ conventions

Around twenty people among the 184 former participants in the citizens’ convention are due to meet, Thursday morning, the government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, and the Minister for Health, Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, for a progress update on The law project. The signatories of the open letter intend to warn the executive about the risk “to further undermine the bond of trust with the population” in case of’“lack of consideration of citizen voice”.

“After the experience of the citizens’ convention on the climate, whose proposals were largely rejected, it would be appropriate for the executive to respect its promise to citizens this time.”

An association of former members of the citizens’ convention on the end of life

in an open letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron

Former participants finally express their fears on “the sustainability of the citizen conventions tool”. In April, the Head of State announced the referral to the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, “in the next weeks”so that other conventions are put “at work on other subjects” of society. “We’re still waiting”notes Martial Breton, for whom the debate on immigration could have been an opportunity “great”.

United within an association called “Les 184”, made up of a large majority of supporters of active assistance in dying, the signatories of the letter ensure “reflect the diversity of views expressed at the convention”. They do not speak on behalf of all the participants, a small minority of whom chose to join another association, “Faim 2 Vie”, committed against active assistance in dying.