France’s Parliament started debate on Tuesday on a Bill aimed at allowing doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated until death comes, amid national debate about whether to legalise euthanasia. The proposed bill backed by the Socialist Government stops short of recommending lethal injections and avoids the terms euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Prime minister Manuel Valls praised “a reform that proclaims the right to die peacefully, in dignity and without suffering,” in a speech at France’s lower house of Parliament. The measure would give people “the right to deep, continuous sedation until death” at the patient’s request, but only when their condition is life-threatening in the short term. It would also force doctors to follow end-of-life instructions whether they are expressed by the patients themselves or written in advance, if they are no longer able to express their will. The vote is scheduled next week at France’s lower house of Parliament.