questions among majority deputies regarding the terms of the bill on “assisted dying”

A week after Emmanuel Macron’s announcements on the end of life, questions and even reservations run through the Renaissance group in the Assembly.

The text which will introduce assisted dying was eagerly awaited by a large part of the majority, but now that the government has revealed the details, the time has come for debate. Tuesday March 19, for the first time, the Renaissance deputies spoke with the Minister in charge of Health and Solidarity Catherine Vautrin. “A calm debate, confides a deputywith nuances much deeper than the simple divide between progressives and conservatives”. “A real political debate in the full sense of the term” congratulates one of his colleagues.

The opportunity for some to express their reservations on specific aspects of the text, such as the possible intervention of a loved one to administer the lethal substance if the patient cannot do so. An elected official says to herself “struck” by this idea and alert on the “psychological consequences” for the author of the gesture. At the same time, a deputy who is also a doctor explains that he himself would have “difficulty doing it”.

Divergences on the concrete provisions

Other aspects raise questions for deputies. In the government’s copy, a single doctor validates the patient’s choice, after consulting other caregivers. Renaissance deputies would like a decision “collegiate”. Which inevitably leads to the question of unanimity or majority to decide.

Others wonder about the doctor who has 15 days to make a decision, while the patient’s discernment can deteriorate very quickly, which will prevent patients from completing the process. In fact, “assisted dying” “in absolute” is rather welcomed, but there are divergences on the concrete modalities. Even if, of course, for some Macronists, truly improving access to palliative care throughout the country would be sufficient, without going as far as assistance in dying.

These debates run through the entire majority, since at Horizons as well as at MoDem, there are also differences in approaches. Among the friends of François Bayrou, there are “very for” and “very against”, like this MP who fears long-term abuses. His fear is that “elderly people tell themselves that they are burdens, so they might as well put an end to it”. Conversely, one of his colleagues resolutely defends “assisted dying”, for “offer the same freedom to everyone, whatever their means, while today the most fortunate go to Switzerland to die”. The debates have only just begun since the bill will arrive in the Assembly chamber on May 27.