Assisted dying could soon become legal in France. This MP was the driving force
In the café of the Assemblée Nationale on Monday, May 26, Olivier Falorni was frequently interrupted as he spoke – either by a fellow MP, stopping by to congratulate him with a handshake, or by one of the many journalists who asked him for a comment.
The previous two weeks had been intense for the MP representing Charente-Maritime. He served as the lead rapporteur for two bills, on one palliative care and one on assisted dying, examined by the Assemblée Nationale. His three-day stubble showed that he had let himself enjoy a rare "day off" on Sunday, before tackling the final sprint leading up to the bills' votes in the Assemblée, on Tuesday. It was like a leg in the middle of a long marathon – one that was far from over – to defend assisted dying, a cause he has championed for years, despite all the obstacles in his path.
His longstanding advocacy and his role in the two bills on end-of-life care, which were both adopted by the Assemblée Nationale on Tuesday, made him a central figure during the debates. The discussions took place in a calm atmosphere, despite aid in dying being a divisive issue. The lead rapporteur welcomed the serenity, contrasting it to "the violence of the exchanges" around the same-sex marriage law, in 2013, and the Veil law on decriminalizing abortion, in 1975. "This Assemblée will be able to have a collective pride for having managed to, for the first time in history, conduct a [debate on a] major societal issue in a calm way," said Falorni, with his trademark smile.
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LeMonde
2 days ago
- LeMonde
Assisted dying could soon become legal in France. This MP was the driving force
In the café of the Assemblée Nationale on Monday, May 26, Olivier Falorni was frequently interrupted as he spoke – either by a fellow MP, stopping by to congratulate him with a handshake, or by one of the many journalists who asked him for a comment. The previous two weeks had been intense for the MP representing Charente-Maritime. He served as the lead rapporteur for two bills, on one palliative care and one on assisted dying, examined by the Assemblée Nationale. His three-day stubble showed that he had let himself enjoy a rare "day off" on Sunday, before tackling the final sprint leading up to the bills' votes in the Assemblée, on Tuesday. It was like a leg in the middle of a long marathon – one that was far from over – to defend assisted dying, a cause he has championed for years, despite all the obstacles in his path. His longstanding advocacy and his role in the two bills on end-of-life care, which were both adopted by the Assemblée Nationale on Tuesday, made him a central figure during the debates. The discussions took place in a calm atmosphere, despite aid in dying being a divisive issue. The lead rapporteur welcomed the serenity, contrasting it to "the violence of the exchanges" around the same-sex marriage law, in 2013, and the Veil law on decriminalizing abortion, in 1975. "This Assemblée will be able to have a collective pride for having managed to, for the first time in history, conduct a [debate on a] major societal issue in a calm way," said Falorni, with his trademark smile.
Euronews
4 days ago
- Euronews
France's National Assembly backs assisted dying bill on first reading
France's lower house of parliament has adopted a bill to allow adults with incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow across Europe for legal end-of-life options. The National Assembly vote is a key step on the long-debated issue, though others remain before the bill can become law. "I'm thinking of all the patients and their loved ones that I've met over more than a decade. Many are no longer here and they always told me: Keep fighting," said Olivier Falorni, the general rapporteur of the bill, amid applause from fellow lawmakers. The proposed measure on lethal medication defines assisted dying as allowing use under certain conditions so that people may take it themselves. Only those whose physical condition doesn't allow them to do it alone would be able to get help from a doctor or a nurse. The bill, which received 305 votes in favour and 199 against, will be sent to the Senate for further debate. A definitive vote on the measure could take months to be scheduled amid France's long and complex process. The National Assembly has final say over the Senate. Activists have criticised the complexity and length of the parliamentary process that they say is penalising patients waiting for end-of-life options. In parallel, another bill on palliative care meant to reinforce measures to relieve pain and preserve patients' dignity was also adopted unanimously. To benefit, patients would need to be over 18 and be French citizens or live in France. A team of medical professionals would need to confirm that the patient has a grave and incurable illness "at an advanced or terminal stage," is suffering from intolerable and untreatable pain and is seeking lethal medication of their own free will. Patients with severe psychiatric conditions and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease won't be eligible. The person would initiate the request for lethal medication and confirm the request after a period of reflection. If approved, a doctor would deliver a prescription for the lethal medication, which could be taken at home or at a nursing home or a health care facility. A 2023 report indicated that most French citizens back legalising end-of-life options and opinion polls show growing support over the past 20 years. Initial discussions in parliament last year were abruptly interrupted by President Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve the National Assembly, plunging France into a months-long political crisis. "What a long road it has been, contrary to what the public thought, contrary to what the French people believed," said Jonathan Denis, president of the Association for the Right to Die With Dignity (ADMD). Earlier this month, Macron suggested he could ask French voters to approve the measure via referendum if parliament discussions run off track. Macron called the vote an important step, adding on social media that "with respect for different sensibilities, doubts, and hopes, the path of fraternity I had hoped for is gradually beginning to open. With dignity and humanity." Many French people have travelled to neighbouring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal. Medically assisted suicide involves patients taking, of their own free will, a lethal drink or medication prescribed by a doctor to those who meet certain criteria. Euthanasia involves doctors or other health practitioners giving patients who meet certain criteria a lethal injection at their own request. "I cannot accept that French men and women have to go to Switzerland — if they can afford it — or to Belgium to be supported in their choice, or that French men and women are being accompanied clandestinely in other countries," Denis said. But earlier this month, French religious leaders issued a joint statement denouncing the bill, warning about the dangers of an "anthropological rupture." The Conference of Religious Leaders in France (CRCF), which represents the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities, said the proposed measures risk exerting pressure on older people and those with illnesses or disabilities. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland and several US states. Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Belgium and Luxembourg under certain conditions. In the UK, lawmakers are debating a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales after giving it initial approval in November. Misinformation and online safety experts have praised Merseyside Police for swiftly sharing the details of the ethnicity and nationality of the man who has been arrested after a car ploughed into a crowd in central Liverpool. On Monday evening the police force said they had arrested a "53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area." While police forces do not usually publish this much detail about a suspect who has been arrested, it comes after rumours began to circulate about the man's identity following the attack, which the force also quickly said was not being treated as a terrorist incident. Liverpool's mayor, Steve Rotheram, said the police had managed to "dampen down" the spread of misinformation by sharing such information rapidly. "The police, with their messaging, were able to stem and to dampen down some of that wild speculation," he told BBC Radio 5 Live, while acknowledging the existence of "nefarious groups that are only interested in stirring up hatred." The potential for hatred spreading will have been at the forefront of the force's mind following the riots that engulfed England last summer, driven by rampant misinformation and disinformation in the wake of the Southport attack in July, in which a 17-year-old murdered three young girls. Far-right activists, fake news websites and conspiracy theorists advanced falsehoods about the killer's identity, with some circulating a fake name and falsely claiming that he was Muslim and an asylum seeker. For legal reasons, the only details that Merseyside Police had initially released about the Southport suspect were that he was a Cardiff-born 17-year-old from the village of Banks in Lancashire. The UK has strict contempt of court laws, which limit which details can be published about suspects in criminal cases before trial. Suspects are not named by the press until they have been charged and under-18s are usually not named at all. A judge went on to allow the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, to be named, partly to correct the "misinformation" that had been spreading. Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology in society at Cambridge University and an expert on information ecosystems, told Euronews that plugging information gaps is crucial to halting the spread of misinformation. "Information voids are almost a gravitational force for conspiracy theorists. Whenever there's an information void, people will fill in the gaps themselves and aided by the virality that you see on social media, that often turns into speculation, rumour, unverified theories, and sometimes harmful misinformation," he said, adding that this had been the case with last year's riots, though he noted that the suspect's age had been a "complicating factor" in that case. Van der Linden has been in talks with police forces about the dangers of information voids. "I've been talking about how important it is to try to pre-bunk, rather than debunk, and pre-emptively release details, when they can, to make sure these kinds of rumours and speculations don't have time to accumulate." "In this case, it's good – they quickly released the information … There's an opportunity for bad actors to exploit the information void with ideologically motivated rumours that then get traction and go viral on social media and turn into offline violence." But he noted that it would not be possible to always release such details and recommended that police are transparent about this. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, also welcomed Merseyside Police's intervention. He told Euronews: "The police are having to react to a rapidly evolving information environment. Given what happened in Southport, it's sensible, proportionate and welcome, that they're trying things to ensure that disinformation is spiked before it can go viral." "That said, what they can't do is deal with the source of the problem – platforms' refusal to deal with disinformation on a systemic level." He noted that the platforms had increasingly slashed safety features and moderation. "Things have been getting worse for the last couple of years. We see platforms rolling back safety features, bad actors becoming more sophisticated, frequency of events. Part of the problem is we now have a much more complicated and unpredictable threat environment, in part caused by the way in which social media has become an incredibly dynamic breeding ground for new conspiracy theories, malignant ideologies and the mobilisation of people for violence." Ahmed said that while police had responded to "rapid speculation" about the ethnicity of the attacker in this case, he did not see it as setting a precedent. "I think it's an experiment, not a precedent. I expect to see police using different tools as the situation demands. Given that they did see rapid speculation about the ethnicity of the attacker, it makes complete sense – you don't need hard and fast rules when it comes to dealing with dynamic and unpredictable situations." "[The conspiracy theories] that go viral are not in the hands of the police, they're in the hands of platforms and their algorithms. They need to have a range of tools available that they can deploy depending on the situation."
LeMonde
4 days ago
- LeMonde
French lawmakers approve assisted dying bill
France's Assemblée Nationale adopted a bill on Tuesday, May 27, to allow adults with incurable illness to take lethal medication, the initial step in a lengthy process that could grant patients medical assistance to end their lives in clearly defined circumstances. The bill received 305 votes in favor and 199 against, after all parties in parliament allowed their lawmakers a free vote on the issue. It will now be sent to the Sénat for further debate. A definitive vote on the measure could take months to be scheduled. In parallel, another bill on palliative care, meant to reinforce measures to relieve pain and preserve patients' dignity, was also adopted on Tuesday, unanimously. "I'm thinking of all the patients and their loved ones. There are days, you know, you will never forget. I will never forget this day," said Olivier Falorni, the general rapporteur of the bill, amid applause from fellow lawmakers. "The Assemblée Nationale's vote on legislation concerning the development of palliative care and assisted dying is an important step," President Emmanuel Macron said, on X, after the vote, adding: "With respect for sensitivities, doubts and hopes, the path of fraternity that I hoped for is gradually opening up." Macron has insisted that any authorisation to choose death should be limited to people with incurable illnesses and intense physical or psychological pain. Strict conditions The proposed measure on lethal medication defines assisted dying as allowing people to use it under certain conditions, so that they may take it themselves. Only those whose physical condition doesn't allow them to do it alone would be able to get help from a doctor or a nurse. To benefit, patients would need to be over 18 and be French citizens or live in France. A team of medical professionals would also need to confirm that the patient has a grave and incurable illness "at an advanced or terminal stage," is suffering from intolerable and untreatable pain and is seeking lethal medication of their own free will. Patients with severe psychiatric conditions and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, wouldn't be eligible. The person would initiate the request for lethal medication and confirm the request, after a period of reflection. If approved, a doctor would deliver a prescription for the lethal medication, which could be taken at home or at a nursing home or a health care facility. Current French legislation allows passive euthanasia, such as withholding artificial life support, and since 2016 doctors have also been authorised to induce "deep and continuous sedation" for terminally ill patients in pain. Health Minister Catherine Vautrin said, over the weekend before the vote, that the "French model" of assisted dying would be "strict and closely supervised." Supported by most French citizens A 2023 report indicated that most French citizens back legalizing end-of-life options, and opinion polls show growing support over the past 20 years. Initial discussions in parliament last year were abruptly interrupted by President Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve the Assemblée Nationale, plunging France into a months-long political crisis. Earlier this month, Macron suggested he could ask French voters to approve the measure via referendum if parliament discussions get off track. Macron said last year that France needed legislation because "there are situations you cannot humanely accept." The goal was "to reconcile the autonomy of the individual with the solidarity of the nation," he said. Stiff opposition The bill has faced stiff opposition from religious leaders in a country with a longstanding Catholic tradition, as well as many health workers. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, a devout Catholic, said Tuesday that he would abstain if he were a deputy because of lingering "questions." French religious leaders this month issued a joint statement to denounce the bill, warning about the "dangers" of an "anthropological rupture." The Conference of Religious Leaders in France (CRCF), which represents the Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist communities, said the proposed measures risk exerting pressure on older people and those with illnesses or disabilities. On the other hand, the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity (ADMD) has called on French lawmakers "to respect the French who want the same right that our Dutch, Belgian, Luxembourgian, Swiss, Spanish, Portuguese neighbors have." 'End of life' or 'aid in dying' The bill has been widely referred to as focusing on "end of life" or "aid in dying" in the French debate, rather than "assisted suicide" or "euthanasia." Medically assisted suicide involves patients taking, of their own free will, a lethal drink or medication that has been prescribed by a doctor to those who meet certain criteria. Euthanasia involves doctors or other health practitioners giving patients who meet certain criteria a lethal injection at their own request. If approved, France would join a small group of European countries that give the right to aid in dying, including Germany, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Until now, French patients wishing to end their lives have had to travel abroad, including to neighbouring Belgium. Vautrin said she hopes that the Sénat will begin examining the issue this year, and submit its suggested changes back to the Assemblée Nationale in early 2026. "I want this bill to get a final vote by 2027 which is still possible," said the minister.
