AFP news agency reported on the 3rd (local time) that France has decided to consider legalizing ‘active euthanasia’ for terminally ill patients who are unlikely to survive.
According to the media, on the same day, French President Emmanuel Macron met with ‘184 French Citizens’, a citizen advisory body composed of 184 French citizens, and said, “We will prepare a bill containing the French model (euthanasia) by summer.” He also added, “We will only allow this if a patient suffering from an incurable disease expresses that they want euthanasia of their own free will,” adding that “the government will not necessarily follow the agency’s proposal.”
Even if the government prepares a bill, it remains a gateway to pass through the parliament. According to the media, French leftists and some centrists are in favor of euthanasia, but rightists are against it.
In 2005, France introduced ‘passive euthanasia’, in which life-sustaining treatment is stopped, but ‘active euthanasia’, which helps death through drugs, is still illegal. It is also illegal to prescribe ‘assisted suicide’, in which medical staff prescribe drugs so that patients can take or administer drugs themselves to lead to death. In 2016, it passed a law only to allow doctors to continuously administer powerful tranquilizers to terminally ill patients in severe pain.
However, last year, the French National Ethics Committee expressed a forward-looking stance, saying that active euthanasia could be reviewed, and related discussions became lively. Later, on the 2nd of this month, ‘184 French citizens’ decided to recommend the government to legalize active euthanasia. Voting results showed that three-quarters of the advisory committee members were in favor of active euthanasia. However, recommendations are not binding.
In Europe, active euthanasia is currently permitted in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. In Switzerland, euthanasia is illegal, but assisted suicide is allowed.
On the 2nd, the French weekly magazine ‘Journal du Dimanche’ conducted a survey of 1,000 French people and found that 70% were in favor of active euthanasia. However, only 36% of respondents said they would choose euthanasia if they were terminally ill.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.