France considers legalizing doctor-assisted suicide

The country’s national council of doctors opposes legalizing medically-aided suicide.

The country’s national council of doctors opposes legalizing medically-aided suicide.

French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested a bill would be drafted by the end of the summer that would determine whether assisted suicide would be allowed in the country or not. He also mentioned that he has set out to improve palliative care. 

DW reported that 184 randomly selected French citizens were invited to debate whether it should be legal for people to be assisted in dying. Of the large group, 76 percent suggested that they favored the proposal for those who want it. 

It is not yet clear whether Macron meant assisted suicide or euthanasia to be allowed in the country, or if there was the possibility of both. Reuters reported that Macron believed it was important to continue thinking about the subject, but that a consensus on the sensitive subject would eventually need to be had.

However, the country’s national council of doctors, l'Ordre des medecins, is apparently opposed to the idea that doctor-assisted suicide should be made legal.

Doctor-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia are both methods of death that have been made legal in various countries throughout Europe. 

A surprising fact is that Switzerland has allowed doctor-assisted suicide since the 1940s. There are even those who travel to the country from around the world to have a medical physician usher them out of this world. According to Swissinfo.ch, there are 1,000 people who voluntarily die in Switzerland every year.

Reuters reported that Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Spain also permit the practice.

Last summer, it was reported that Italy had carried out his first case of medically assisted suicide, when an Italian man, paralyzed for 12 years, decided that he did not want to live anymore. He was administered a lethal drug and subsequently died in his home.

Earlier this year, the New York Post reported that Canada was considering extending its euthanasia treatment to terminally ill minors, which has garnered pushback. There are ten US states, including the District of Columbia, that allow doctor-assisted suicide if certain parameters are met.

Image: Title: macron
ADVERTISEMENT

Opinion

View All

CHRISSY CLARK: Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's daughter has accepted 'reparation' payments from white friends over the last 6 years

Public transactions on the Venmo page of Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, show ...

Morrissey gives £50,000 to save Salford Lads Club

"His support is more than a financial contribution; it's a powerful endorsement of our mission and a ...

EU Green Party calls on Jill Stein to drop out of US presidential race and back Kamala

"The stakes of these elections could not be higher," the statement read....