End of life: André Comte-Sponville regrets "restrictive" conditions for Alzheimer's patients

The end-of-life law took another important step forward on Tuesday with the approval of new articles. MPs approved five cumulative conditions for access to the right to assisted dying: You must be 18 years old, be French or legally resident in France, and suffer from "a serious and incurable condition, whatever the cause, which is life-threatening, in an advanced or terminal phase."

Fourth condition, the patient must "present physical or psychological suffering" which is "either resistant to treatment or unbearable depending on the person" when they have chosen not to receive or to stop treatment.

The final condition is that the person be able to express their wishes freely and in an informed manner, an amendment aimed at taking into account advance directives having been rejected.

Philosopher André Comte-Sponville, who is now a hit on TikTok and has long fought for the legalization of euthanasia, welcomes this law but deplores the "restrictive" conditions.

"We need safeguards," he said on RMC-BFMTV this Tuesday, but the law does not address the issue of accident victims or people suffering from Alzheimer's disease: "At the end of Alzheimer's life, we will no longer be able to benefit from this law because we are more lucid. And if they ask to die before, we will tell them 'you are not at the end of your life'."

"These two requirements exclude 225,000 new people each year, except for advance directives, and they must be respected," the philosopher continues.

And at what point would the directive not be anticipated? "We can set certain criteria, such as the day the individual no longer recognizes their children. My father died of Alzheimer's, and one day he asked me, 'How is your father?'" recalls André Comte-Sponville.

"We can delegate to someone the right to decide for us when we are no longer able to do so, but I find it tragic that this law excludes the 225,000 new cases of Alzheimer's," he insists.

This end-of-life law is facing opposition from religious leaders. Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim dignitaries have signed a text deploring the distortion of fraternity: "Assisting death is tantamount to killing," says Cardinal François Bustillo. "These are the same people who opposed the Veil law (the abortion law, editor's note )," the philosopher replies.

"The Republic must protect the most vulnerable without restricting their freedom. It serves everyone, and it doesn't matter if the churches disagree. No Christian, Muslim, or Jew will be forced to decide whether to die," concludes André Comte-Sponville.