The citizens’ convention voted by a majority on Sunday February 19 in favor of an evolution of the law on the end of life towards “active assistance in dying”.
Maeliss Innocenti with Agencies
© ALAIN JOCARD / POOL / AFP POOL / EPA
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LDiscussions on end-of-life devices are progressing. On Sunday, the citizens’ convention – made up of 180 participants – met for a vote before the Economic, Social and Environment Council (Cese). The goal? Responding to Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne’s question: “Should access to active assistance in dying be open?” The 180 citizens voted “yes” at 75%, and “no” at 19%. A small part of the voters decided not to decide.
After nearly three months of debate, 84% of citizens felt that the “end-of-life support framework” did not respond “to the different situations encountered”. Regarding the terms of access to this aid in dying, 72% of citizens were in favor of assisted suicide, 66% in favor of euthanasia.
The 184 participants drawn by lot therefore unsurprisingly voted in favor of a change in the current legislation, which President Emmanuel Macron plans to change. At the beginning of January, a first informal and impromptu vote had indicated a movement in this direction.
READ ALSOSpecial seniors – Putting people back at the heart of careSince 2016, the so-called Claeys-Leonetti law has made it possible to go as far as “deep and continuous sedation” of certain patients until their death, without however making it possible to actively cause their death or to give them the means to do so. “A turning point has been taken, it marks the end of the deliberation phase. There are still debates, ”said Claire Thoury, responsible for organizing the convention, who will report on her detailed work on March 19 following the vote. Some questions remain unanswered, in particular that of the conscience of people at the end of life.
What regarding assisted suicide for minors?
During Sunday’s session, citizens debated the issue of minors at length. At 56%, they are in favor of access to assisted suicide also being open to them. “Congratulations to all of you for restoring hope in this somewhat worrying democratic context,” greeted Claire Thoury before the assembly of citizens, promising that minority positions would be taken into account.
“We have several debates in the National Assembly which reflect a not very glorious image, here you have 184 citizens who debate in a peaceful way”, she argued during a press conference. “We told the citizens that it is the politicians who will decide in the end, that it is not here that we decide, but that we inform the public decision”, explained the president of the governance committee of the agreement.
READ ALSOGuy Vallancien – Choosing his death “To disregard at all” the guidelines of the convention “would still be weird”, commented Claire Thoury, while the government, which is carrying out its own consultations at the same time, warned that it would probably not resume the conclusions as they stand. citizens.
The number two of the Republicans, François-Xavier Bellamy, estimated for his part on Monday that the citizens’ convention on the end of life “represents only itself”. During an interview on Sud Radio, he added that the citizens’ convention “goes around in circles and produces conclusions that do not engage our democracy”. As a reminder, the MEP is firmly “opposed to euthanasia”, as he repeated on Monday morning.
