2023-09-07 06:00:02
UA bill authorizing active assistance in dying will soon be submitted to the President of the Republic. This text should specify the modalities: euthanasia (the doctor administers the lethal substance) and/or assisted suicide (the patient administers it himself), as well as the access criteria (vital prognosis committed in the medium term, access possible on advance directives to express his wishes concerning his end of life…).
In countries that allow assisted suicide or euthanasia, doctors have full responsibility for prescribing a lethal substance, after assessing the request. Only the realization of the act varies, carried out by a doctor for euthanasia, by the sick person for assisted suicide. In all cases, active assistance in dying responds to the free and enlightened will of a person suffering from a serious and incurable illness, faced with inappeasable suffering. This is the common prerequisite for all countries that have legislated in favor of active assistance in dying, thus recognizing a right to self-determination for sick people and a lack of end-of-life support.
The choice made by States (Austria, Switzerland, Oregon) to opt for assisted suicide rather than euthanasia can be explained by a certain number of factors, in particular cultural, but also by the reluctance of certain health professionals. . Thus, in countries authorizing only assisted suicide, the doctor’s role stops at the prescription of the lethal product. No secondary medical assistance is offered, neither for the sick person nor for their relatives.
In Switzerland, access to assisted suicide requires prior membership with volunteer associations. The examination of the request and the prescription of the lethal product are carried out by a volunteer doctor from the association. After the death, a legal inquiry is systematically carried out with those present, intended to verify that the sick person has indeed self-administered the lethal substance, independently of any external pressure.
Necessary shared medical responsibility
As France prepares to legislate, the government seems to be moving towards a single access to assisted suicide, thus limiting the involvement of health professionals, in accordance with the position of those who have spoken out against any form of participation active assistance in dying.
However, we, field health professionals also involved with people with very diverse pathologies, wish to express a different position here.
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