end of life, the Convention told from the inside

► Marion N., 81 years old, beneficiary of the minimum old age

Marion is one of eight people in a precarious situation that the governance committee of the End-of-Life Convention wanted to include among the citizens drawn by lot. Since the death, in 2021, of her companion, swept away by cancer, she has lived in a residence for the elderly in Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis). She hardly sees the three grown children she has left after the death of her youngest in a car accident fourteen years ago. She receives the minimum old age pension – just over €900 per month – and has been active in ATD Fourth World since 1994.

“I was born into an observant Jewish family but religion, for me, is a thing of the past. However, it interested me to hear the representatives of the cults. We feel that they know each other and they all repeat more or less the same thing. It’s normal. Christians, Jews and Muslims do not have the same religion but they have the same God. Buddhism is a little different. But it is more a philosophy than a religion. In any case, everyone agreed that a law already existed and that they did not see why it should be changed, that it was enough to apply it.

On the other hand, I have noticed that religions have watered down their wine. A few years ago, if you committed suicide, you weren’t allowed a ceremony. Apparently the Church has come back. It pleased me to know that we would not be judged if we committed assisted suicide, even if I am not too much for it.

The caregivers we met did not seem too favorable to assisted suicide and euthanasia either. This is understandable by the way. When you studied medicine, it’s not to kill people. It’s against their ethics and against the Hippocratic oath. Especially if you work in palliative care. Having to kill someone you’ve healed shouldn’t be easy.

“Death is still a taboo in France”

Afterwards, I would still like to hear from patients and families. Know what they think about all this: does palliative care help them to accept death or is it hard to bear anyway? My sister, who lost her husband to cancer, says that palliative care helps to soften things. We take the time to talk about death, to prepare for it. Death is still a taboo in France.

On Saturday afternoon, we met in small groups of ten to prepare for the next day’s vote. Everyone had to say that they were, according to him, his priorities. Personally, I prefer when there are few of us around a table. It is easier to express oneself with one’s own words than in a large assembly.

I was able to emphasize the injustices of our society. I know what I’m talking about: I lived six years on the street and I saw people die alone in their corner, in indifference. For the homeless, palliative care does not exist. This is also true for some elderly people who live at home, in misery and loneliness. For them, it would be necessary to set up a kind of palliative care marauding. Anyway, that’s what I suggested. I don’t know if the idea will be retained in the end but it would be good: if palliative care were applied throughout France, there would be no more problems. »

► Julian L., 35, civil servant

Julian, originally from Ardèche, has been living in Loire-Atlantique for four years after starting his career in Paris. His university course in political science and European politics led him to become a civil servant. This spatial planning specialist works in Nantes but lives in the countryside, in the north of the department.

December 10, 2022: second day of the citizens’ convention on end of life. Julian, 35, from Loire-Atlantique, administrative assistant in a local authority. / Nicolas Lascourrèges for The Cross

“Like most Convention attendees, I came in with a rough level, but in the space of two weekends, I really feel like I learned a lot. In any case, to better understand the subject. We received a lot of information during the first sessions and my brain is starting to be able to put them into boxes.

That said, I still have high expectations for the upcoming sessions. The hearings have so far been very sequenced, each one coming to present his point of view without contradiction. Like a lot of other participants, I would have liked more confrontations in the round tables. The governance committee that organizes the work ensures that the balance is respected to avoid frustration. He should continue in this direction.

The hearing of representatives of religions – Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist – on Friday, December 16, did not hold any major surprises. The six – all men! – recalled their attachment to the sanctity of life and underlined the risks of abuses in the event of legalization of euthanasia or assisted suicide. Sometimes with caricatural arguments. Waving the red rag can be counterproductive. On the other hand, I was sensitive to the speech on the need to accompany those who suffer, not to abandon those who are in fragility. A principle that is good to remember even if it does not tell us what to do concretely.