“For a majority of citizens of the convention, access to active assistance in dying must be open”indicates the final report of the citizens’ convention, which has been meeting since December to discuss the issue of euthanasia and assisted suicide in France. Their mission was to answer the following question: “Does the end-of-life support framework respond to the different situations encountered or should any changes be introduced?”
press release #press
✅The #Citizen’s Convention calls for a rethinking of the support framework for #end of life and positions itself in majority for an opening of the active assistance to die under conditions
The members of the Convention will be received tomorrow at the Elysée pic.twitter.com/PvXAsgUDcP— CESE (@lecese) April 2, 2023
But if the decision seems unequivocal, nuances and conditions have been formulated in the final text. Not all citizens are in agreement on the case of minors, or those unable to express their will. A minority of the 184 members also spoke out against legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide.
What does the law propose today? Current legislation, the Claeys-Leonetti law of 2016, authorizes “deep and continuous sedation” for people whose pain is intolerable, but does not go so far as “active assistance in dying”. A situation that the members of the citizens’ convention deemed unsuitable. They also alerted to the “alarming situation” of the French health system, in particular the difficulties of access to palliative care.
Emmanuel Macron in favor of a bill
After three months of debate and work, the members of the citizens’ convention met Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée this Monday, April 3, 2023, for an act II. At the end of the meeting, the Head of State spoke in favor of a bill”by the end of summer“. “You have worked with rigor and with a respect, a consideration for each other, remarkable“, he acknowledged, believing that their work has allowed “a further step towards consensus“.
An encouraging message, when the President of the Republic had first made it known that he was not “press” to move forward on this subject, which is still very sensitive in France. If he had in the past spoken out in favor of this legalization, he had until then remained silent on his positions, and had also made it known that he did not There would be no referendum on the issue (Article 11 of the Constitution does not authorize public consultation on societal issues).
“I hope that this work will make it possible to build a bill by the end of the summer of 2023. This will continue a collective maturation from ethics to politics, respectful of the thickness of lives, of humanity. also finding the right words” @EmmanuelMacron on the #end of lifepic.twitter.com/0NIB6GNTll
— CESE (@lecese) April 3, 2023
“We need to build a ten-year national plan for pain management and the development of palliative care, with the necessary investments.“, he finally declared, acknowledging that the French end-of-life support system was “ill-suited” to the current requirements. The Economic, Social and Environmental Council may be consulted on other issues “relating to the life of the nation” to organize future citizens’ conventions.
Source :
- Report of the Citizens’ Convention on the end of life, April 2023
