In France, everything is political, even death. One would have thought that President Macron had enough to do not to open Pandora’s box – moral and political – that constitutes the subject of euthanasia or “assisted suicide”.
But then, during the last presidential campaign, the president undertook to propose a new law on the subject. And Monday [12 septembre]he announced the creation next month of a citizens’ convention responsible for presenting a bill on the end of life by the end of 2023 – it will be the fifth in France for twenty-four years.
This announcement caused an outcry in the opposition, both left and right.
For some, the president is desperately seeking to leave a symbolic law as a legacy to mark his passage to the Élysée. For others, he only seeks to divert attention from the crisis that threatens the French health system this winter.
A global law on the end of life was passed only six years ago, continue its detractors, it is still poorly understood by the public and very little applied. So why now? Why change it so quickly?
“There is no obligation to live”
The president was partly forced by the publication on Tuesday of an independent report from the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE). With the exception of eight votes, its forty members have advocated, with many reservations and conditions, to review the law on the end of life.
Don’t blame me for going into certain details, it’s a delicate subject.
Adopted in 2016, the Claeys-Léonetti law prohibits both euthanasia (the deliberate act of a medical staff member accelerating the end of life) and