“franceinfo senior” evokes this social subject, the end of life, with the collection of words on the end of life, published by the Petits Frères des Pauvres, last year.
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Last Wednesday, April 10, the bill which aims to establish assistance in dying arrived at the Council of Ministers. That same day, a special commission of deputies was set up to study the text, before its examination in plenary session on May 27.
The Little Brothers of the Poor association worked in parallel with the Citizens’ Convention for the end of life meeting from December 2022 to March 2023, and gave the floor to elderly people to allow them to contribute their thoughts on this subject.
Words from old citizens about the end of life
For more than 75 years, the association has been supporting people in their last quarter of life, alone or isolated, with modest incomes, often vulnerable, so it has recognized expertise in supporting people who are sick or at the end of their lives.
Inspired by the work of the Citizens’ Convention on the end of life, the bill which aims to establish assistance in dying must open up the possibility of assistance in suicide, under strict supervision. It will also include various measures to strengthen access to palliative care.
7,500 beds dedicated to people at the end of their lives
In France, 7,500 beds are dedicated to caring for people at the end of their lives. This represents 2.8 beds per 100,000 inhabitants. At least 5 beds per 100,000 inhabitants would be needed to meet needs. Currently, two thirds of French people do not have access to this care, and 21 departments are still completely without it.
According to the BVA study “The French and the end of life”carried out in October 2022, on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the National Center for Palliative and End-of-Life Care, On opinion regarding current laws concerning the end of life, the French appear generally divided. Nearly one in two French people believe that the laws guarantee respect for their wishes and preferences for their end of life, and almost one in two French people think that they do not guarantee this.