This Monday, French deputies open the debate on the legalization of euthanasia, in the midst of the dispute between the Government, which seeks a balanced text, and numerous deputies from various parties who want to go a little further in the freedom to choose die with dignity.
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But in the law commission, the Government project underwent several modifications and showed the lack of internal agreement between the parties and the division in Macron’s own formation.
Thus, the deputies most in favor of expanding euthanasia managed to introduce several amendments that have stirred up those opposed to that right and have revived criticism from the Catholic Church, other religions and the healthcare community.
Euthanasia debate
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The initial text reserved this measure for adult patients, with the capacity to request it freely and consciously and affected by “A serious illness and incurable whose vital prognosis in the short or medium term is compromised” and for whom the treatments cause “unbearable” suffering.
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In the debates of the law commission, the deputies managed to change that point of the law and allow euthanasia of patients with diseases “in advanced or terminal phase.”
A change welcomed by the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity but which, according to many deputies and healthcare associations, leaves the field of application too open.
That amendment immediately caused division within Macron’s party, between the most progressive and the most conservative currents, while the Minister of Health, Catherine Vautrin, promised to work so that during the parliamentary debate the initial “balance” is recovered.
Another modification of the initial text refers to the administration of the lethal substance. The Government intended that patients themselves administer it except in cases where they were incapable of doing so.
The commission’s amendments ended up leaving patients free to delegate the administration of that substance.
These modifications have caused the final text to have more support from left-wing groups, but more opposition from the conservatives and the extreme right.
Furthermore, Macron’s party, which already lacks a majority in the lower house, faces the divided debate, within a long legislative process that is expected to last until the summer of 2025.
Therefore, it is uncertain what the final result of the debates will be and how broad the legalization of euthanasia will be in France.
EFE
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