VIDEO. Clandestine euthanasia: the taboo

Euthanasia is still strictly prohibited in France, but there are clandestine channels to allow those suffering from incurable diseases to end their lives with the help of a third party. Journalist Julie Pichot went to explore this reality that is less and less hidden.

She notably followed the story of Christiane, suffering from Charcot’s disease, who agreed to be accompanied until her last breath in Belgium. Faced with the influx of requests from the French, more and more Belgian doctors refuse to become specialists in euthanasia for foreigners.

Some doctors are breaking the silence

Today, many candidates do not even make the trip, but resort to euthanasia in France, completely illegally. Some networks have organized themselves to help patients die. The doctors concerned are discreet, because they risk years in prison, but some dare to break the silence to issue a cry of alarm on what is happening in France, which many are unaware of.

On the Internet, several association sites also encourage the purchase of deadly products, by providing detailed instructions for use, but there is no guarantee that the substances purchased at a very high price are not counterfeit…

An investigation by Julie Pichot, Charles Maumy, Xavier Gaillard, Laurence Gatti, Xavier Deleu, produced by Cat & Cie, broadcast in “Special Envoy” on April 6, 2023.

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Among our sources

– The Ifop/”Journal du dimanche” survey The French and the Citizens’ Convention on the end of life: 70% of French people, like the citizens making up the Citizens’ Convention, are in favor of “active assistance in dying” and the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide. The survey was conducted with a sample of 1,010 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over. The representativeness of the sample was ensured by the quota method (sex, age, profession of the person questioned) after stratification by region and category of agglomeration. The interviews were carried out by self-administered questionnaire online from March 30 to 31, 2023.

Non-exhaustive list.