End of life: MPs approve procedure for requesting assisted dying

On Wednesday, May 21, MPs adopted the terms under which a person can request assistance in dying from a doctor during the marathon examination of the text on this new, much-debated right.

According to the proposed law, a person requesting access to assisted dying must do so from a doctor "who is neither their relative, their relative by marriage, their spouse, their cohabitant, their partner to whom they are bound by a civil solidarity pact, nor their beneficiary."

The deputies also wished to clarify, by adopting a government amendment, that the request made by the patient to the doctor must be expressed "in writing or by any other means of expression adapted to his or her abilities."

The initial version only mentioned an "express request," referring the details to a decree in the Council of State. The text stipulates that the same person cannot submit multiple requests simultaneously, and that a request cannot be submitted "during a teleconsultation."

An amendment by MPs from the independent Liot group was also adopted to clarify that the request may be collected at the person's "home" or "any place where care is being provided" if they are unable to go to their doctor.

The doctor must inform the person about their state of health and that they are eligible for palliative care. The text also stipulates that the doctor "should suggest that the person and their loved ones be referred to a psychologist or psychiatrist."

Right-wing MPs have tried to make consultation with a psychologist or psychiatrist systematic.

"Because we can have depressive disorders, particularly anxiety disorders, which can (...) impair judgment," argued MP Philippe Juvin (Les Républicains). "This is effectively putting the patient under guardianship, and putting them in the hands of a psychiatrist's decision," retorted Green MP Sandrine Rousseau.

Health Minister Catherine Vautrin stressed that the government would introduce an amendment later in the text, requiring doctors to seek the opinion of a psychiatrist "when they have serious doubts about the person's judgment."

MPs must now discuss the next steps in the procedure, including issues of collegiality in deciding whether or not to grant a request for assisted dying.

On Tuesday, MPs approved five cumulative conditions required for a patient to be eligible for assisted dying. The vote on the entire text, at first reading, is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27. Some 1,100 amendments are still under discussion.