CCNE (FRENCH NATIONAL CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE FOR ETHICS) REPORT ON END OF LIFE DEBATE BETWEEN CLAUDE HURIET, DAVID JOUSSET AND BÉNÉDICTE BÉVIÈRE-BOYER

Abstract

Thinking of one’s own death, everyone dreads dying
alone, suffering uncontrollable pain, and the terror of the
unknown. This triple anxiety is inherent to the human
condition. This is the anxiety that palliative care and
support respond to, care which can be considered as the
expression of human solidarity. Conditions of end of life,
‘which can be unworthy of the respect due to persons’,
call, indeed, for another response than euthanasia or
assisted suicide. A law which would permit them would
acknowledge the failure of this solidarity and would be
counter to the right to access palliative care, a right which
has been unanimously recognised for 15 years but not
applied