The French government introduced a bill on Wednesday that would allow adults with terminal cancer and other incurable illnesses to take lethal drugs, amid growing public demand for legal options for assisted dying.
Many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal. French President Emmanuel Macron has long promised such legislation.
Health Minister Catherine Vautrin said after the cabinet meeting that patients must be over 18 and be French citizens or reside in France to benefit from the new proposed measures.
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A team of medical professionals must confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable disease, is suffering from excruciating and untreatable pain, and is voluntarily seeking lethal drug treatment. People with severe mental illness or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease are excluded.
Vautrin said a patient would initiate an application for a lethal drug and, after some reflection, would confirm the application.
If approved, the doctor will issue a prescription for the lethal drug with a three-month expiration date. Mr Macron said people would be able to take it at home, nursing homes and health facilities. If your condition prevents you from doing it alone, you can get help from someone you choose, or a doctor or nurse.
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a joint statement with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the Elysée Palace in Paris on April 8, 2024. The French government introduced a bill on Wednesday that would allow adults with terminal cancer or other incurable illnesses to take lethal drugs. (Sarah Maysonnier/Pool, via AP)
This bill is currently being debated in Congress. Vautrin called for “great listening, great humility, and great respect for the freedom of conscience of each of us, because it touches on the subject of life and death.”
He also announced €1.1 billion in new spending on palliative and other end-of-life care.
A report last year found that most French people support legalizing end-of-life options, and polls show support has increased over the past two decades.
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A 2016 French law allows doctors to sedate terminally ill patients before death, but does not allow assisted suicide or euthanasia.
Medically assisted suicide involves a patient voluntarily ingesting a lethal drink or drug prescribed by a doctor to someone who meets certain criteria. Euthanasia involves a doctor or other health care worker administering a lethal injection to a patient who meets certain criteria at their request.
Assisted suicide is permitted in Switzerland, Portugal, and some states in the United States. Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Belgium and Luxembourg under certain conditions.
