On 20 May, Vincent Lambert’s parents issued a direct summons against Reims University Hospital and Dr Vincent Sanchez to appear before Reims Criminal Court for “failure to assist a person in danger“. The summons will be considered on 4 June at a consignment hearing. “It’s a wake-up call,” said Jean Paillot, the parents’ lawyer. “The point is to argue that by deciding to stop hydrating and feeding Vincent Lambert despite the provisional measures formulated by the UN International Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the doctor and the hospital were acting outside the law. It is also about highlighting that Vincent Lambert has no place in a palliative care unit because he is not at the end of his life,” continued Paillot. “We ask for him to be transferred to a specialized facility, where he will be entitled to the most appropriate care under the terms of the law,” he said, confirming that “some facilities have said they are ready to receive him”.
For further reading:
Dr Sanchez sets 20 May as the date to start implementing Vincent Lambert’s euthanasia
AFP (27 mai 2019)