A bill to legalise euthanasia has gone before a deeply divided French parliament, with right-wingers planning to torpedo any vote with thousands of amendments.
If the draft law were to pass, France would become the fifth European Union country to decriminalise assisted suicide, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain.
The bill was brought by Olivier Falorni, deputy for the parliamentary splinter group Libertes et Territoires (“Freedom and Territories”)
Olivier Falorni argues that the law will end what he has described a national “hypocrisy” because French residents often travelled to Belgium or Switzerland for assistance in suicide.
He added that French doctors already secretly performed an estimated 2,000 to 4,000 acts of euthanasia every year.
Under the current law, deep sedation of patients who suffer from incurable illnesses, is allowed but not to end their life, or help them end their own life.
Legalising euthanasia is supported by many deputies, including a majority of President Emmanuel Macron’s own party, the LREM although neither Macron nor his government have weighed in on the debate.
In the meantime, Deputies hostile to euthanasia have filed 3,000 amendments ahead of the debate which is likely to slow down Thursday’s proceedings.
While some parliamentarians are opposed to euthanasia on ethical or religious grounds, others have said the subject is too important to be handled in just one day of National Assembly proceedings.
Discover more from LN247
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
