French MPs reignite divisive debate over assisted suicide
The end-of-life bill is back in the legislative process after it was interrupted by French President Emmanuel Macron’s dissolution of parliament last year.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/13/french-mps-reignite-divisive-debate-over-assisted-suicide
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The end-of-life bill is back in the legislative process after it was interrupted by French President Emmanuel Macron’s dissolution of parliament last year.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/05/13/french-mps-reignite-divisive-debate-over-assisted-suicide
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:00French lawmakers have reopened one of the country's most divisive debates, assisted suicide.
00:07On Monday, MPs began reviewing two bills, one to boost palliative care and the other to legalize assisted dying for adults with incurable advanced or terminal diseases.
00:18The proposal allows access to a lethal substance, either self-administered or delivered by a professional, under strict conditions, including the patient's ability to clearly express an informed wish to die.
00:33What does living mean when living is no longer suffering without hope of healing? This question, we do not have to hide. In other words, we have to deal with respect and humility, the respect of listening to the sick and not to be able to decide for themselves.
00:54Backed by French President Macron's camp and much of the left, the bill faces stiff resistance from the right and far right, who argue end-of-life care should be the main focus instead.
01:07Aucun pays n'est allé aussi loin, à la fois dans l'ouverture, le caractère expéditif, la faiblesse du contrôle, la pression que cela mettra sur les plus vulnérables.
01:16Ce qu'il fallait aux soignants et aux malades, c'était du temps pour soigner, soulager, accompagner.
01:24Just a few meters away, opponents of the bill gathered, dressed as hospital workers, accusing the French government of ignoring the country's palliative care crisis.
01:35C'est ce que nous avons voulu manifester, le scandale au fond qu'il y a à prétendre légaliser suicide assisté et euthanasie, alors même que notre système de santé est si fragilisé,
01:45le risque étant que des personnes se tournent vers ces solutions de mort par défaut de soins appropriés.
01:51J'ai eu une tante qui avait de réelles souffrances psychologiques.
01:56Du coup, elle n'arrivait plus à vivre toute seule, elle est allée dans l'EHPAD et il n'y avait personne.
02:01Le médecin généraliste venait une fois tous les deux mois et il n'y avait personne pour soulager ces souffrances psychologiques.
02:08Du coup, elle a tenté de se suicider.
02:11Je ne veux pas d'une société où on abandonne ces personnes.
02:13Je voudrais vraiment que quelqu'un, qu'un psychiatre puisse l'aider à sortir de son mal-être.
02:19Lawmakers are set to vote on both bills at the end of May.
02:22In a rare instance, parties have refused to give any voting lines, meaning each MP will cast their vote based on personal conviction.