Berliner Boersenzeitung - France's Macron announces bill for assisted dying

EUR -
AED 3.826681
AFN 70.327616
ALL 98.192804
AMD 406.067937
ANG 1.879076
AOA 951.190259
ARS 1045.840133
AUD 1.601828
AWG 1.877897
AZN 1.775245
BAM 1.957546
BBD 2.105077
BDT 124.589901
BGN 1.956284
BHD 0.392592
BIF 3016.094951
BMD 1.041829
BND 1.405287
BOB 7.204528
BRL 6.043693
BSD 1.04263
BTN 88.005286
BWP 14.243906
BYN 3.412124
BYR 20419.848375
BZD 2.101624
CAD 1.456946
CDF 2991.091432
CHF 0.930994
CLF 0.037254
CLP 1027.952249
CNY 7.54601
CNH 7.562783
COP 4605.144632
CRC 531.073558
CUC 1.041829
CUP 27.608468
CVE 110.75048
CZK 25.343745
DJF 185.15426
DKK 7.457312
DOP 62.978972
DZD 139.891631
EGP 51.726992
ERN 15.627435
ETB 128.155793
FJD 2.371151
FKP 0.822333
GBP 0.831468
GEL 2.855018
GGP 0.822333
GHS 16.464915
GIP 0.822333
GMD 73.970229
GNF 8992.026458
GTQ 8.048177
GYD 218.127645
HKD 8.110066
HNL 26.28575
HRK 7.431636
HTG 136.86204
HUF 411.533277
IDR 16610.452733
ILS 3.856892
IMP 0.822333
INR 87.968134
IQD 1365.316903
IRR 43834.955489
ISK 145.523076
JEP 0.822333
JMD 166.09811
JOD 0.738765
JPY 161.249124
KES 134.920816
KGS 90.122166
KHR 4220.449639
KMF 492.268155
KPW 937.645704
KRW 1463.259646
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.868887
KZT 520.591707
LAK 22878.565176
LBP 93347.878651
LKR 303.450587
LRD 187.529583
LSL 18.888757
LTL 3.076251
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.089375
MAD 10.49591
MDL 19.017231
MGA 4865.341785
MKD 61.54739
MMK 3383.819949
MNT 3540.134882
MOP 8.359474
MRU 41.574227
MUR 48.810083
MVR 16.10707
MWK 1807.573672
MXN 21.282904
MYR 4.654932
MZN 66.583684
NAD 18.888753
NGN 1767.675143
NIO 38.287608
NOK 11.53576
NPR 140.808938
NZD 1.785942
OMR 0.401107
PAB 1.042655
PEN 3.952739
PGK 4.194144
PHP 61.404399
PKR 289.423952
PLN 4.338074
PYG 8139.257775
QAR 3.792783
RON 4.976404
RSD 117.038068
RUB 108.671879
RWF 1427.305728
SAR 3.911717
SBD 8.734231
SCR 14.879628
SDG 626.663972
SEK 11.497837
SGD 1.402827
SHP 0.822333
SLE 23.68116
SLL 21846.638123
SOS 595.409088
SRD 36.978718
STD 21563.75683
SVC 9.123047
SYP 2617.626467
SZL 18.888745
THB 35.91223
TJS 11.103861
TMT 3.646401
TND 3.313541
TOP 2.440072
TRY 35.999051
TTD 7.081314
TWD 33.946439
TZS 2771.265486
UAH 43.133048
UGX 3852.435216
USD 1.041829
UYU 44.339112
UZS 13366.666402
VES 48.506662
VND 26482.251319
VUV 123.688032
WST 2.90836
XAF 656.558208
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815595
XDR 0.793126
XOF 650.625955
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379151
ZAR 18.853084
ZMK 9377.71492
ZMW 28.802098
ZWL 335.468513
  • RBGPF

    -0.5000

    59.69

    -0.84%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • RYCEF

    0.0100

    6.8

    +0.15%

France's Macron announces bill for assisted dying
France's Macron announces bill for assisted dying / Photo: Christophe Ena - POOL/AFP

France's Macron announces bill for assisted dying

French President Emmanuel Macron will present a bill on assisted dying to go before parliament in May, he said in an interview published by French media on Sunday.

Text size:

The move could make France the next European country to legalise euthanasia for the terminally ill, following a long consultation with a committee of French citizens on "active assistance to dying".

Only adults with full control of their judgement, suffering an incurable and life-threatening illness in the short to medium term and whose pain cannot be relieved will be able to "ask to be helped to die", Macron told the La Croix and Liberation newspapers.

The change is necessary "because there are situations you cannot humanely accept", Macron said. The goal was "to reconcile an individual's autonomy with the nation's solidarity.

"With this bill, we are facing up to death," he said.

But the highly controversial move is likely to provoke stiff opposition, and even though the bill would be presented before the European Parliament elections in June, its passage is unlikely before 2025.

While opinion polls suggest a majority of French favour right-to-die legislation, religious leaders in the traditionally Catholic country as well as many health workers oppose it.

Macron acknowledged the debate by announcing the bill simultaneously to La Croix, a Catholic daily, and the left-leaning Liberation, which has championed the euthanasia cause.

The move comes days after Macron spearheaded an effort that saw the right to abortion enshrined in France's Constitution earlier this month, the first country in the world to do so.

- 'Precise criteria' -

The president said minors and patients suffering psychiatric or neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s would not be eligible.

If medical professionals gave their consent, a lethal substance would be prescribed for the patient, who could administer it themselves or with the help of a third party if they could not physically do so.

The third party can be a volunteer, the doctor or the nurse treating the patient, according to the text, while the substance can be administered at the patient's home, in care homes for the elderly or care centres.

Medical experts would have 15 days to respond to a request for help to die and an approval would be valid for three months, during which time the patient could retract, Macron said.

Macron said that if medical professionals rejected the request, the patient could consult another medical team or appeal.

He added that he wanted to avoid the terms assisted suicide or euthanasia because the patient's consent is essential, with a role for medical opinion and "precise criteria".

Until now French patients in pain wishing to end their lives have had to travel abroad, including to neighbouring Belgium.

A 2005 law has legalised passive euthanasia, such as withholding artificial life support, as a "right to die".

A 2016 law allows doctors to couple this with "deep and continuous sedation" for terminally ill patients in pain.

But active euthanasia, whereby doctors administer lethal doses of drugs to patients suffering from an incurable condition, is illegal.

Assisted suicide -- whereby patients can receive help to voluntarily take their own life -- is also banned.

(K.Müller--BBZ)