French panel recommends legalizing euthanasia
Print Edition
A panel set up at the request of French President Francois Hollande yesterday recommended legalizing assisted suicide, where the debate on euthanasia has re-emerged after several end-of-life tragedies.
The suicides of two elderly couples in November and the heart-wrenching testimony of a politician who watched her terminally-ill mother die after taking pills have shocked and moved France, where euthanasia is illegal.
“The possibility of committing medically assisted suicide ... is, in our eyes, a legitimate right of a patient close to death or suffering from a terminal pathology, based first and foremost on their lucid consent and complete awareness,” said the panel, made up of 18 citizens picked by polling firm Ifop.
The so-called “Conference of Citizens” said the patient’s lucidity would have to be evaluated by at least two doctors.
Hollande promised during his 2012 presidential campaign to look into legalizing euthanasia, and has set up a series of consultations towards a potential bill, including the panel.
The “Conference of Citizens” said it was in favor of euthanasia in specific circumstances, such as when the patient is able to give his or her direct consent, but ruled out legalizing the practice as a whole.
The panel also called for more palliative care in France.
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