“Can society authorise decriminalised euthanasia to offset health system deficiencies?”

Publié le 27 Nov, 2018

“Faced with serious illness, we are all gripped with fear”. Twenty-three physicians from the Grain de Sel group of the College of Physicians of the SFAP (French Society for Support and Palliative Care), have published an article in which they remind readers that “euthanasia does not provide a solution for suffering”.

 

They recall that “most euthanasia requests come from healthy people or from some patients when a disease is diagnosed or their condition deteriorates” which, if the situation continues, are “often driven by mixed emotions about ‘living a bit longer’, but differently”.

They note that, as difficult as they are, the last moments contain a wealth of emotions, “nurturing memories of the deceased and helping to prevent pathological mourning. Removing these moments would threaten society, weaken relationships and increase loneliness”.

 

The physicians denounce “the current overwhelming desire to review the legislation (3 draft bills since 2017)” which, in their opinion, “is indicative of a passionate, ideological hype based on a vision of the isolated individual on the world stage“. They are concerned about the spin-offs that have been universally generated by these legislative changes and believe that “today’s request to legalise the decision to die may preclude tomorrow’s will to live despite illness and disability”.

 

And they wonder what difficulties lie ahead for patients requiring end-of-life support and care: “Can society allow decriminalised euthanasia to be used to offset the shortfalls of the health system to the point where it becomes the easiest and cheapest option given the complexity of the situations facing us? “

Le Figaro (06/11/2018) – « L’euthanasie n’est pas une solution aux souffrances »

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