They are 180 French people drawn by lot to have the difficult task of deciding on the delicate question of the end of life.
This Sunday evening, the participants in this citizens' convention overwhelmingly expressed having "progressed" in their reflection on this sensitive subject, without advancing on the final result of their work.
Since 2016, the law (Claeys-Leonetti) has provided for “deep and continuous sedation until death” for terminally ill patients with intractable suffering, but does not authorize euthanasia or assisted suicide.
“Is the end-of-life support framework adapted to the different situations encountered or should any changes be introduced?
“: this is the question that the French people drawn by lot will have to answer.
Until March 19 to decide
Since December 9 and until March 19, these "citizens" have nine three-day weekends at the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese) to train, listen to experts and deliberate on euthanasia, assisted suicide, palliative care and the complex ethical issues surrounding it.
On January 8, an indicative vote sparked controversy, some seeing it as proof that the bets were on for the legalization of “active assistance in dying”.
To the question “are you, at this stage, in favor of an evolution of the legal framework?
», 105 « citizens » voted yes, 13 « no », 38 did not decide.
"This vote was a mistake, I assume it," Claire Thoury, chair of the convention's governance committee, told AFP.
The highly supported “active assistance in dying”
On Sunday, at the end of their fourth session and therefore almost halfway through, the "citizens" took part in a simple "method vote" on a cautious wording: "Have the works carried out so far allowed you to progress in your thinking?
".
Result: 150 “yes” answers, 8 “no”, 6 abstentions.
At this stage, 346 proposals have emerged from the working groups set up.
Among the avenues that have received the most approvals is the proactive development of palliative care, with, for example, “mobile teams in each canton”.
Other highly supported proposals relate to “active aid in dying” for people suffering from a neurodegenerative disease, such as “Charcot's disease”, whose vital prognosis would be committed in the medium term.
“There is dissensus, but the matter is emerging little by little”, welcomed one of the “facilitators” of the convention in the Cese hemicycle.
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