France's Constitutional Council has ruled that a law introducing the right to assisted end-of-life care for certain seriously ill patients is constitutional. Thus, the document has passed one of the last key legal hurdles before entering into force.
The decision was made on August 14. The Council did not find any of the challenged articles unconstitutional, but formulated three reservations that must be considered when applying the law.
Who will be able to use the new right
The law allows an adult, under certain conditions, to obtain a lethal substance that the patient must self-administer. If the physical condition prevents doing so without assistance, the drug may be administered by a doctor or nurse.
The right will apply to French citizens and those permanently and legally residing in the country.
The patient must suffer from a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening in an advanced or terminal stage, and experience suffering related to the illness that cannot be alleviated by treatment acceptable to them.
In addition, the decision must be free, informed, and made by a person capable of expressing their own will.
Restrictions added by the Constitutional Council
One observation concerns adult patients under legal protection. The Constitutional Council required additional guarantees that the decision is actually made by the patient themselves.
The second reservation expands the so-called right to conscientious objection. Originally it expressly applied to doctors and nurses. The Council ruled that pharmacists who prepare or dispense the lethal drug cannot be forced to participate against their beliefs.
The third reservation concerns private medical and social institutions. Their management may, in certain cases, refuse to perform the procedure on their premises if it clearly contradicts the institution's statutory purposes. However, such refusal will be permissible only if there are other institutions nearby capable of providing the patient access to the procedure.
The law was debated in France for several years
The National Assembly finally approved the law on July 15. 291 deputies voted in favor, 241 against.
The document was then sent to the Constitutional Council. In particular, opponents of the reform questioned the adequacy of guarantees for vulnerable patients and demanded a broader right for medical institutions to refuse to participate.
Supporters of the law see it as a way to guarantee seriously ill people the right to a dignified end of life and an end to unbearable suffering. Critics fear possible pressure on the elderly, patients with disabilities and other vulnerable citizens, and call first of all for expanding access to palliative care.
Earlier, KURS Ukraine reported that the French parliament had finally approved the assisted end-of-life law and sent it for constitutional review.
За матеріалами: Conseil constitutionnel, Assemblée nationale
