“There will be freedom to vote” at the National Rally because “it touches the intimate”, assures MP Thomas Ménage

End of life “is a social subject, so we will have freedom of vote”said Saturday April 6 on franceinfo the National Rally of Loiret deputy, Thomas Ménage, while the bill on the end of life will be presented on Wednesday to the Council of Ministers.

The Minister of Health Catherine Vautrin unveiled on Saturday the palliative care development plan provided for in the bill, with the announcement of the increase from 1,540 to 1,760 palliative care beds in 2025 and a financial effort of one billion euros over ten years. “On palliative care, of course we support” the reinforcement project, says the MP. “Today, in France, 21 departments do not have a palliative care unit”he denounces, specifying that “in the Centre-Val de Loire region, half of the departments do not have a unit”. Thomas Ménage believes that palliative care is “the necessary prerequisite before moving towards a change in the law” at the end of life. In passing, he addresses the delay taken by the government on this subject, “we voted for bioethics laws, we voted for the Leonetti law [qui a renforcé le droit d’accès aux soins palliatifs en 2016]but we have not implemented the laws we passed.”

Access to children under 12, “a red line”

If the support of the RN is therefore expected on the palliative care aspect, on the end of life aspect, the votes will be open. “We consider that it is a social subject, so we will have freedom of vote, as parliamentarians,” he explains. “We must respect everyone’s opinions in this area, it touches on the intimate, our personal, family stories, which are specific to us. There will therefore be freedom of vote”. The Loiret deputy considers himself “in a personal capacity, not closed to a change in the law”. But he expects “see the text and see concretely what limits, what limits” will be asked. He cites the example of the Netherlands, which opened access to end of life for children under 12 in 2023. This constitutes for him “a red line that we cannot accept in our country”.