After nine months of reflection by its departmental and regional councils, the Order of Physicians speaks out as the citizens’ convention on the end of life completes its work. She will probably recommend on Sunday the legalization of “active assistance in dying”, without it being known yet what the intentions of the President of the Republic are on the question.
The Order of Physicians says in the preamble “unfavorable to any possibility of setting up an active assisted death procedure for minors and people unable to express their will”.
In the event of legislative change towards the legalization of active assistance in dying (euthanasia and/or assisted suicide), it “will be unfavorable to the participation of a doctor in a process which would lead to euthanasia, the doctor cannot deliberately provoke death by the administration of a lethal product”.
In the event of legalization of assisted suicide, the Order requests a specific conscience clause “which might be highlighted at any time during the procedure”, without however preventing the doctor claiming this clause from continuing to follow his patient.
For the Order, “the assessment, the decision of eligibility for active assistance in dying and the responsibility should be collegial” and the treating or referring doctor “should systematically be a member” of this college if he has not invokes his conscience clause.
If he is “unfavorable to the active participation of the doctor during the taking of the lethal product by the patient”, he believes that he should be able to follow it until his last moments if he has not asserted his clause of consciousness.
Finally, the Order considers that “the law must protect the doctor who participates in the procedure of active assistance in dying”.
In the current state of the legislation, the Order “considers it imperative to allow better application of the Claeys-Leonetti law”, which prohibits euthanasia and assisted suicide, but allows “deep and continuous sedation until death ” in specific cases, and says he is particularly ready to contribute ” to the development of palliative and support care “.
