Retired in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, Michel Philippin who speaks this Tuesday, February 21 in a soft and calm voice, makes no secret of the ordeal endured for five years alongside his wife Mireille, associate professor of German , disappeared at the age of 60 following a “trip to Switzerland” to soothe her suffering.
An experience of life and death that he regularly shares in public meetings with members of the ADMD du Var (Association for the right to die with dignity).
The operation that went wrong
“At 55, my wife underwent orthopedic surgery to correct a hallux valgus (or “onion” at the foot). A ordinary operation if it is well done except that there, it was missed, with irreparable consequences… My wife was then seized with permanent and terrible neuropathic pain, including at rest.
The ordeal and the decision
“Nothing relieved her… Crippled with refractory pain, she mightn’t take it anymore. Her condition became appalling, without a social life… Faced with therapeutic failures and impotence, the only solution was to end it all…”
“The problem is that active assistance in dying is prohibited in France. We had to manage outside this limited legislative framework. We therefore turned to Switzerland where “assisted suicide”, although I prefer the more rights of “voluntary death”, is possible.”
“The most appropriate solution because although diminished, my wife had retained all her faculties of judgment and discernment. She was therefore able to open the valve of the infusion supposed to inject her with the lethal solution. A preferred option to the oral solution which has the disadvantage of inducing vomiting and therefore complicates things…”
The medical process in Switzerland
“You shouldn’t believe that all of this happens overnight. The process to certify that everything has been attempted lasts between one and three months.”
“You must first meticulously compile a complete file to see if the case justifies the request. Two medical visits follow with independent doctors who want to know everything regarding you and your motivations.”
“They are the ones who give the final green light. At that point, the prescription for the lethal product can be issued.”
The conditions of “voluntary death”
“With my two children, I was able to stay with my wife until the last moment. The procedure is filmed. The person gives their identity and answers several questions related to their consent to die. The product acts quickly. In a few minutes, she was able to experience a gentle and peaceful death.”
“”Voluntary death” occurs at the request of the person. They therefore still have a break to live with their illness. It is reassuring to be able to choose their moment, or even die naturally before… Nothing to do with a “suicide” This is why I am campaigning for this ultimate medical act to be recognized in France.”
The “inconsistencies” of the French system
“My wife had requested palliative care, but she might not be taken care of on the pretext that at 60 you are not at the “end of life” and that she did not have a known degenerative disease. …”
“It’s the whole paradox of the law which says that we must not let people suffer… We can nevertheless administer morphine, and we know very well that if we increase the doses to a certain level, the product also becomes lethal… This is how some French doctors “play” on it to let a patient “go”.
Medical reluctance and current hopes
“If the person no longer has his conscience or the motor skills necessary to make the final gesture as my wife did, the Swiss process is not possible.”
“This is where euthanasia must take over with medical personnel. A problem, because most doctors do not want to be associated with a gesture that causes death…”
“Another French hypocrisy since we know very well that these same doctors, with the approval of the families, can deprive a patient of hydration and therefore lead to death following a few days or weeks in atrocious conditions of hunger and thirsty…”
“The orientations of the Citizens’ Convention are encouraging in the sense that they recommend that active assistance in dying should not be reduced to “exceptional” situations.”
“Everyone must be free to decide what their end of life will be. With medical safeguards of course. We are not going to euthanize for “heartache”, that’s obvious!
“Studies show that the French population is largely in favor of all this, but we know very well that on such an issue, only political will will make the difference.”
