End of life law: at the last minute, this possibility was removed by deputies

Article 5 of the bill relating to support for the sick and those at the end of life was adopted by the National Assembly this Thursday, June 6, 2024. MAXPPP – xavier de torres

The deputies voted this Thursday, June 6, 2024, for article 5 of the bill dedicated to the end of life, but removing the possibility of a third party administering the lethal substance.

Article 5 of the bill relating to support for the sick and those at the end of life was adopted by the National Assembly this Thursday 6 ;nbsp;June 2024. The article voted by 88 votes against 50 introduces, for the first time into the law, the possibility of requesting "assisted dying&quot ;, indicates Le Monde.

The article provides that "the person s’administers a lethal substance or, when’he/she does’ rsquo;is not physically able to do it, has it administered by a doctor or nurse" . The deputies adopted the article excluding the possibility provided for in the initial text that a "voluntary person", other than a caregiver, can administer the lethal product, against the advice of the government.

To one voice

By one vote, 43 against 42, and after long debates, the deputies therefore deleted this provision from the article. "Even if this vote was not in accordance with my wishes, I take note of this decision", commented on Franceinfo Olivier Falorni, MoDem related deputy, general rapporteur of the bill on the end of life while the National Assembly voted against the intervention of a close third party to administer the lethal substance. & quot;I am convinced that this question will come up again in the following articles", he added.

Some MPs considered that "it’was putting too heavy a psychological weight on the shoulders of a loved one", he explained. He recalled that when he defended a bill in 2021, he did not propose  "the possibility for close people to intervene. I considered that it was a technical act, a professional act which required the presence and intervention of a doctor or nurse, he pointed out.