Latest news with #euthanasia
Russia Today
9 hours ago
- General
- Russia Today
France approves right-to-die law
France's lower house of parliament has approved a controversial bill to legalize assisted dying for adults with terminal illnesses, amid deep divisions in a country with strong Catholic traditions. The National Assembly voted 305 to 199 in favor of the measure, which is backed by President Emmanuel Macron. The bill now moves to the Senate and will return to the lower house for a second reading. Supporters hope it will become law by 2027. France currently allows what is called passive euthanasia – such as withdrawing life support – and deep sedation before death. Under the bill, patients could request lethal medication, which they would take themselves, or if physically unable, have administered by a doctor or nurse. They must be over 18, hold French citizenship or residency, and be suffering from an irreversible, advanced, or terminal illness causing constant, untreatable pain. People with severe psychiatric conditions or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's would not qualify. A medical team would assess each case. After a period of reflection, the patient could receive the drug at home, in a care home, or medical facility. The government described the bill as 'an ethical response to the need to support the sick and the suffering,' calling it 'neither a new right nor a freedom… but a balance between respect and personal autonomy.' Macron hailed the vote as 'an important step' toward a more humane approach to end-of-life care. A separate bill establishing a right to palliative care passed unopposed. France's proposal would be more restrictive than laws in countries such as Belgium or the Netherlands, where euthanasia – in which doctors give a lethal injection at the patient's request – has been legal since 2002 and extended to minors. Similar laws exist in Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Canada, Australia, and Colombia. Medically assisted suicide, where patients take prescribed lethal medication themselves, is legal in Switzerland and several US states. Right-to-die campaigners have welcomed the law, though describing it as relatively modest in scope. 'We've been waiting for this for decades,' said Stephane Gemmani of the ADMD association. Critics warn the definitions are too broad, potentially allowing assisted dying for patients who could live for years. Some fear the bill could undermine medical ethics, erode care standards, and expose vulnerable people to subtle pressure to die. 'It would be like a loaded pistol left on my bedside table,' a 44-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease told a protest outside parliament, according to the BBC. This month, France's religious leaders issued a joint statement denouncing the 'dangers' of an 'anthropological rupture.' Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on X this week that it is 'not a bill of fraternity but a bill of abandonment.'
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Aussie pop star Tones and I is charged over deadly dog attack - after her American bulldog escaped their $7m mansion and tore the neighbour's cavoodle to shreds
Australian pop star Tones and I's dog has been put down after it killed a cavoodle by biting it on the neck and refusing to let go. The 32-year-old singer's American bulldog 'Boss' escaped her $7million mansion on the Mornington Peninsula in November last year and attacked her neighbour's dog. Boss was euthanized. On Thursday Dromana Magistrates' Court ordered the singer, whose name is Toni Elizabeth Watson, to pay a $3000 fine and the council's costs, The Herald Sun reported. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Watson's team for comment.
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
France's National Assembly adopts long-debated bill legalizing end-of-life options
A board shows the result after France's lower house of parliament has adopted a bill to allow adults with incurable illness to take lethal medication, Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at the National Assembly in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler) PARIS — France's lower house of parliament adopted a bill Tuesday 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 bill's general rapporteur, 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 favor and 199 against, will be sent to the Senate, where the conservative majority could seek to amend it. 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 criticized the complexity and length of the parliamentary process that they say is penalizing 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 Tuesday, unanimously. The bill has strict conditions 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 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 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). Months-long debate ahead Earlier this month, Macron suggested he could ask French voters to approve the measure via referendum if parliament discussions get off track. Macron on Tuesday 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 traveled to neighboring 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. Religious leaders object 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. Assisted suicide is allowed in Switzerland and several U.S. states. Euthanasia is currently legal in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Australia, Colombia, Belgium and Luxembourg under certain conditions. In the U.K., lawmakers are debating a bill to help terminally ill adults end their lives in England and Wales after giving it initial approval in November. Sylvie Corbet, The Associated Press
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
French parliament prepares to vote on legalising assisted dying
France's parliament is preparing to vote on a controversial bill to legalise assisted dying, potentially paving the way for euthanasia under what campaigners say would nonetheless remain some of the strictest conditions in Europe. As part of a long-awaited package of end-of-life legislation delayed by President Emmanuel Macron's decision to dissolve parliament last year, MPs are also due to vote on Tuesday on a less contentious bill establishing the right to palliative care. Both votes are the start of a long parliamentary process that will require the bills to move on to the senate – the upper house – and then back to the lower house for a second reading, meaning they are unlikely to become law before next year. The government has described the right-to-die law as 'an ethical response to the need to support the sick and the suffering', insisting it was 'neither a new right nor a freedom … but a balance between respect and personal autonomy'. The bill would allow a medical team to decide if a patient is eligible to 'gain access to a lethal substance when they have expressed the wish'. Patients would be able to use it themselves or have it administered by a nurse or doctor 'if they are in no condition physically to do so themselves'. Patients must meet a number of strict conditions: they must be over 18, hold French citizenship or residency and suffer from a 'serious and incurable, life-threatening, advanced or terminal illness' that is 'irreversible'. The disease must cause 'constant, unbearable physical or psychological suffering' that cannot be addressed by medical treatment, and the patient must be capable of 'expressing freely and in an informed manner' their wish to end their life. The bill – referred to in France as a law on 'end of life' or 'aid in dying' rather than 'assisted suicide' or 'euthanasia' – is expected to be backed by Macron's centrist MPs and their allies and by the left, with right and far-right deputies likely to vote against. All parliamentary groups have been given a free vote to express their personal convictions. Euthanasia is a highly sensitive subject in France, a country with a longstanding Catholic tradition, and the bill is also opposed by many health workers. The prime minister, François Bayrou, a devout Catholic, has said he had 'questions' and would abstain if he were an MP, but Macron said last year that France needed the legislation because 'there are situations you cannot humanely accept'. France currently allows passive euthanasia – such as withholding artificial life support – and deep sedation before death, but patients seeking active end-of-life options have no choice but to travel to other countries where euthanasia is legal. Right-to-die campaigners have welcomed the law, though describing it as relatively modest in scope. 'It's a foot in the door, which will be important for what comes next,' said Stéphane Gemmani of the ADMD association. 'We've been waiting for this for decades. Hopefully France will steadily align itself with other European countries,' Gemmani said. 'Forcing people to go to Belgium or Switzerland, pay €10,000 or €15,000 … The current situation is just wrong.' Opinion polls show most French people are in favour of assisted dying, but France has been slower than many European neighbours to legalise it. Others are actively debating the issue, including the UK, where an assisted dying bill is before parliament. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion Active euthanasia – where a caregiver induces death at the request of the patient, and assisted suicide – where doctors provide the patient with the means to end their life themselves – have been legal in the Netherlands and Belgium since 2002 under broadly similar conditions. A doctor and an independent expert must agree the patient is suffering unbearably and without hope of improvement. Both countries have since extended the right to children under 12. Luxembourg also decriminalised active euthanasia and assisted dying in 2009. Active euthanasia is outlawed in Switzerland, but assisted suicide has been legal since the 1940s and organisations such as Exit and Dignitas have helped thousands of Swiss nationals, residents and others to end their lives. Austria legalised assisted suicide in 2022, while Spain adopted a law in 2021 allowing euthanasia and medically assisted suicide for people with a serious and incurable illness, providing they are capable and conscious, the request was made in writing, reconfirmed later, and approved by an evaluation committee. Portugal decriminalised euthanasia in 2023 but the measure has not yet come into force after certain articles were rejected by the constitutional court. In the UK, MPs approved the legalisation of assisted dying in England and Wales for adults with an incurable illness who have a life expectancy of under six months and are able to take the substance that causes their death themselves, in a first vote in November last year. MPs must now vote on whether the text, amended in May to allow medics to opt out, is sent to the upper chamber for further scrutiny. The Scottish parliament has also passed its first vote on a bill to legalise assisted dying.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Health
- Associated Press
People Accept Euthanasia Decisions Made by AIs Less Than Those Made by Humans
The role of AI in medical decision-making elicits different reactions in people when compared with human doctors. 'The implications of this research are significant as the role of AI in our society and medical care expands every day.'— University Lecturer Michael Laakasuo TURKU, FINLAND, May 27, 2025 / / -- The role of AI in medical decision-making elicits different reactions in people when compared with human doctors. A new study investigated the situations where the acceptance differs and why with stories that described medical cases. People accept the euthanasia decisions made by robots and AI less than those made by human doctors, finds a new study. The international study, led by the University of Turku in Finland, investigated people's moral judgements on the decisions made by AI and robots as well as humans on end-of-life care regarding people in a coma. The research team conducted the study in Finland, Czechia, and Great Britain by telling the research subjects stories that described medical cases. The project's Principal Investigator, University Lecturer Michael Laakasuo from the University of Turku, explains that the phenomenon where people hold some of the decisions made by AI and robots to a higher standard than similar decisions made by humans is called the Human-Robot moral judgement asymmetry effect. 'However, it is still a scientific mystery in which decisions and situations the moral judgement asymmetry effect emerges. Our team studied various situational factors related to the emergence of this phenomenon and the acceptance of moral decisions,' says Laakasuo. Humans Are Perceived as More Competent Decision-makers According to the research findings, the phenomenon where people were less likely to accept euthanasia decisions made by AI or a robot than by a human doctor occurred regardless of whether the machine was in an advisory role or the actual decision-maker. If the decision was to keep the life-support system on, there was no judgement asymmetry between the decisions made by humans and Ai. However, in general, the research subjects preferred the decisions where life support was turned off rather than kept on. The difference in acceptance between human and AI decision-makers disappeared in situations where the patient, in the story told to the research subjects, was awake and requested euthanasia themselves, for example, by lethal injection. The research team also found that the moral judgement asymmetry is at least partly caused by people regarding AI as a less competent decision-maker than humans. 'AI's ability to explain and justify its decisions was seen as limited, which may help explain why people accept AI into clinical roles less.' Experiences with AI Play an Important Role According to Laakasuo, the findings suggest that patient autonomy is key when it comes to the application of AI in healthcare. 'Our research highlights the complex nature of moral judgements when considering AI decision-making in medical care. People perceive AI's involvement in decision-making very differently compared to when a human is in charge,' he says. 'The implications of this research are significant as the role of AI in our society and medical care expands every day. It is important to understand the experiences and reactions of ordinary people so that future systems can be perceived as morally acceptable.' The research article was published in the journal Cognition. Michael Laakasuo University of Turku [email protected] Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
