"In active assistance in dying, the participation of retired volunteer doctors is essential"

France is preparing to take a historic step forward with the ongoing review of a proposed law on end-of-life care, which provides, in addition to the development of palliative care, for the right to active assistance in dying. This text is part of a dynamic shift in attitudes in French society: according to numerous surveys conducted over the past twenty years, more than 80% of French people say they support a law allowing everyone to choose their end of life under certain clearly defined conditions.

Parliament still has to debate the two forms of active assistance in dying: assisted suicide, in which the patient performs the lethal act himself, and medical assistance in dying, in which the doctor directly intervenes. Parliament will be able to vote for one or the other, or offer the patient a choice between the two options. Nothing has been decided yet.

Even if we stick to the bill that focuses active assistance in dying on assisted suicide, the role of the doctor will remain important at several stages: it is he who will specify whether the person is fully aware of his decision, who will make the medical prescription and who will be present on the chosen day to ensure the safety of the act, in conjunction with the caregivers. In addition, his direct medical participation will be necessary when the patient is no longer physically able to intervene himself.

While for some doctors this participation is incompatible with their beliefs, for others, responding to the demands of patients suffering from serious and incurable illnesses, and who wish to choose their end of life, fits perfectly with their ethics.

It is difficult to assess the proportion of the two as long as two legal threats persist over the heads of doctors: criminal sanctions with trial at the Assize Court and the risk of being excluded from the profession. by the National Council of the Order of Physicians. However, mentalities are changing. On April 2, during a meeting of the parliamentary commission, Dr. François Arnault, president of the National Council of the Order of Physicians, reported the results of an unprecedented survey conducted among the 3,500 medical councilors concerning their role in the end of life of patients.

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