PARIS, France
French President, Emmanuel Macron, he will present a bill on assisted dying to go before parliament in May, he said in an interview published by French media on Sunday.
The move could make France the
next European country to legalise euthanasia for the terminally ill, following
a long consultation with a committee of French citizens on "active
assistance to dying".
Only adults with full control
of their judgement, suffering an incurable and life-threatening illness in the
short to medium term and whose pain cannot be relieved will be able to
"ask to be helped to die", Macron told the La Croix and Liberation
newspapers.
The change is necessary
"because there are situations you cannot humanely accept", Macron
said. The goal was "to reconcile an individual's autonomy with the
nation's solidarity.
"With this bill, we are
facing up to death," he said.
But the highly controversial
move is likely to provoke stiff opposition, and even though the bill would be
presented before the European Parliament elections in June, its passage is
unlikely before 2025.
While opinion polls suggest a
majority of French favour right-to-die legislation, religious leaders in the
traditionally Catholic country as well as many health workers oppose it.
Macron acknowledged the debate
by announcing the bill simultaneously to La Croix, a Catholic daily, and the
left-leaning Liberation, which has championed the euthanasia cause.
The move comes days after
Macron spearheaded an effort that saw the right to abortion enshrined in
France's Constitution earlier this month, the first country in the world to do
so.
The president said minors and
patients suffering psychiatric or neurodegenerative conditions such as
Alzheimer’s would not be eligible.
If medical professionals gave
their consent, a lethal substance would be prescribed for the patient, who
could administer it themselves or with the help of a third party if they
could not physically do so.
The third party can be a
volunteer, the doctor or the nurse treating the patient, according to the text,
while the substance can be administered at the patient's home, in care homes
for the elderly or care centres.
Medical experts would have 15
days to respond to a request for help to die and an approval would be valid for
three months, during which time the patient could retract, Macron said.
Macron said that if medical
professionals rejected the request, the patient could consult another medical
team or appeal.
He added that he wanted to
avoid the terms assisted suicide or euthanasia because the patient's consent is
essential, with a role for medical opinion and "precise criteria".
Until now French patients in
pain wishing to end their lives have had to travel abroad, including to
neighbouring Belgium.
A 2005 law has legalised
passive euthanasia, such as withholding artificial life support, as a
"right to die".
A 2016 law allows doctors to
couple this with "deep and continuous sedation" for terminally ill
patients in pain.
But active euthanasia, whereby
doctors administer lethal doses of drugs to patients suffering from an
incurable condition, is illegal.
Assisted suicide
-- whereby patients can receive help to voluntarily take their own life --
is also banned.
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