On the 27th of May the French Lower House approved a law to legalise ’aid in dying’ in cases of ongoing mental or physical suffering. It should also give terminally ill patients an enforceable right to palliative care, which is now often poor or inaccessible.
The bill should allow assisted dying under strict conditions. To qualify, the patient must be of age and able-bodied, have French nationality or be legally resident in France, and suffer from a serious, incurable and life-threatening illness. The condition must be in advanced or terminal stage, and cause ongoing psychological or physical suffering.
Unlike euthanasia – where a doctor administers the lethal agent – under the bill, the patient would have to do it himself, unless the person is not physically capable of doing so. Healthcare providers may refuse help, but must refer patients to someone willing to do so if conditions are met. The outcome is a first step towards legalisation: the French Senate will now first have to consider the text and vote about the law. That is expected to follow this autumn and that is why filming reporter Audrey Vuetaz from the French Senate broadcaster Public Senat travels to the Netherlands to produce a reportage about how the Dutch euthanasia legislation is working in practise.
Euthanasia in the Netherlands is regulated by a law that came into force on the 1st of April 2002. The law applies to termination of life on request and assisted suicide, both at the patient’s own explicit request. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are not punishable for a doctor under conditions.
Audrey Vuetaz interviews Yvette Schuijt, the legal specialist from the The Dutch Association for a Voluntary End of Life (NVVE), Dutch nursing home physician, philosopher and writer Bert Keizer and Hilda van der Burgh-Lagraauw a Dutch woman that wrote a book about the euthanasia of her mother.
Activities: advice, research, setup, planning, accompanying filming, interview and translations.