French deputies have adopted an amendment allowing a patient to delegate the administration of the lethal substance to a caregiver, rather than self-administering it. Supported by left-wing, Renaissance, and LIOT group lawmakers, it passed with 57 votes to 51, despite government opposition. This alters the original text based on assisted suicide.
On Monday, February 23, during the review of a bill on end-of-life care, French deputies approved an amendment altering the procedures for aid in dying. Adopted in first reading in May, the original text is based on the principle of assisted suicide, where the patient self-administers the lethal substance. Euthanasia is only provided for exceptionally, when the person is physically unable to do so.
The amendment, defended by left-wing deputies as well as those from Renaissance and the LIOT group, now allows the patient to delegate this act to a caregiver. Despite opposition from the government and general rapporteur Olivier Falorni, it passed with 57 votes to 51. Two similar amendments were already adopted the previous week on the first articles of the text. As with those, a second deliberation has been requested and will occur at the end of the review, before the solemn vote scheduled for Tuesday.
Sandrine Rousseau from the Ecologists defended this free choice, stating it is “a way to free one's mind, to be serene at the moment” of administration, “not to fear making the wrong gesture (…) and to focus on the love of one's loved ones or this life one is leaving” rather than on the act itself.
Olivier Falorni, the bill's author, said he is personally in favor of this delegation but warned that it risks undermining the overall balance of the text and jeopardizing the achievement of a majority.
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist emphasized that autonomy is the “philosophy” of this text, adding that “without this self-administration, the meaning of the text will be transformed.” Patrick Hetzel, a Les Républicains deputy and opponent of the text, described it as “a real drift that is taking hold, amendment by amendment,” hoping it will influence Tuesday's votes.
