Aid in dying: this modification of the proposed law which raises great fears

The government text on the end of life modified by the commission arrives at the Palais-Bourbon this Monday afternoon for two weeks of debates. A modification of the deputies on the "vital prognosis" patients in particular are talking.

The bill aimed at à legalize active aid for women dying happens in plenary session at the National Assembly this Monday, May 27, 2024. It has just been reworked. by the special commission on the text on the end of life, arousing serious concerns among some regarding the the inclusion of other patients who were previously outside the framework to benefit from active help with their treatment. die. The latest version, modified by the committee, will serve as a basis for discussion by deputies. The latter now have two weeks, until June 11, to adopt a text at first reading.

The vital prognosis "in the advanced or terminal phase"

According to the bill, amended by the commission, a person must be "sick, suffering from a serious and incurable illness, in an advanced or terminal phase" to benefit from financial assistance die. But that's not all. Psychological suffering" épotential could be necessary, "refractory to treatment" or "unbearable" and "related to the disease". In addition, the person concerned must be able to “express their will” in a free and clear way à each step of the process. 

Recently, a change has particularly attracted to the attention of Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, president of the special commission. This is the vital prognosis "engagedé à medium or short term. For her, "the original balance was lost' broken" she regrets in l'Opinion. The commission replaced the "vital prognosis engagedé à short or medium term" by the notion "in the advanced or terminal phase".

Olivier Falorni regrets an "inconsistencyéin the text"

Could this modification include a larger number of patients, some of whom are not at the end of life ? Absolutely not for Olivier Falorni, rapporteur of the commission: "This text responds &agrav; two fundamentals, develop and strengthen palliative care and allow a last resort, help to protect people. die. The commission adopted the exact wording made by the Ministry of Healthé who spoke of the need for of a serious and terminal illness in the advanced or terminal phase to have access to help ' die" he says on franceinfo this Monday. 

He continues: "The government explains what a serious illness is: an illness with a life-threatening prognosis for the person. The notion no longer appears in the text. Voilaà why, according to him, "it is undoubtedly necessary to reintroduce it. Today, the challenge is to make a law applicable and which will be applied. The access procedure ' agrave; help & dying has hardly changed, the principle is self-administration, if the patient is not able to do so. to do so, he may have recourse to a doctor, a nurse or a third party. On the other hand, he regrets an “inconsistency in the text which will have to be resolved in session in the coming hours and days”.

Psychological suffering, largely forgotten in the text ?

If the vital prognosis term "in advanced or terminal phase" is the central point of discord, he is far from being the only one. Another modification of the text, the right à help & dying can now be proposed à incurable patients in the event of physical and possibly psychological suffering. The "or" was é replaced with a "and" in the second version and that is very important. Indeed, this novelty could harm certain patients and reduce this right quite significantly. Finally, an amendment was made. deposited by the apparent deputy Renaissance Cécile Rilhac aiming at give the possibility patients to choose the delegation of the gesture of administering the lethal substance in order to die, whether at home or at home. a caregiver or loved one. A proposition that does not pass muster for some caregivers.