With this bill, we are staring death in the face.
That's one of the quotes making headlines in French newspapers
on Sunday from President Emmanuel Macron after he announced a
new assisted dying bill.
According to Mehron, there are situations that you cannot humanely
accept,
but his bill comes with strict conditions.
Only adults with full control of their judgment,
suffering an incurable and life threatening illness in the short
to medium term and whose pain cannot be relieved,
can ask to be helped to die.
Christophe Melsought is one of the people waiting for this
law.
To be a prisoner in your own body is awful.
What's the point of waiting for months or years for
the heart to stop,
for your breathing to stop?
I think we really need to help people to pass
away with dignity.
Under the bill, a panel of medical experts would have
to approve the request,
and then the patient would be prescribed A lethal substance
to administer themselves or with the help of a third
party.
The Association for the Right to Die with Dignity welcomes
the prospect,
albeit with reservations. We'll have to clarify things and Parliament
will have to make progress because we know that a
panel of doctors won't work.
The president admitted that if the panel disagrees,
the patient will ask another one.
The bill is likely to face opposition from some religious
leaders and health workers,
and while it would be presented before the European Parliament
elections in June,
it is unlikely to be implemented before 2025.