World Tour: A radical departure

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour.

A vote by the French National Assembly in the coming days could put in place the most extreme euthanasia law in Europe since Nazi regulations in the 1930s. 

The vote was set to take place yesterday, but was postponed after lengthy debate left hundreds of amendments still to be considered.

NICK EICHER, HOST: So what is it that makes this bill so extreme?

WORLD Global Desk Chief and Europe Reporter Jenny Lind Schmitt has the story.

JENNY LIND SCHMITT: French President Emmanuel Macron wants to leave a legacy when he leaves office next year. 

At the beginning of his second term in 2022, he committed to passing a “medical aid in dying” law as part of his progressive agenda. France’s National Assembly will vote on the proposal this week.

Several European countries and U.S. states already have so-called “death with dignity” laws; but critics say this one goes much further.

SEBASTIAN OSTERTAG: So in reality, this law is extremely radical, and yeah, is the most extreme law proposed since the Nazis.

Sebastian Ostertag is France coordinator for the organization Pro Life Global. He says the proposed law essentially legalizes both assisted suicide—where a person receives prescribed poison to kill themselves—and euthanasia, when a doctor administers the deadly dose.

OSTERTAG: It would legalize it. For adults who are sick with either a disease, which, if they do not take treatment, will eventually lead to their deaths, as well as people who are suffering from depression, anxiety, things that are considered severe. 

So essentially, this would affect people who are mentally ill, and would target the sick and, theoretically, dying.

Developmentally disabled persons with Down syndrome or autism would also be eligible to request euthanasia under the new law.

Another alarming component is the speed at which the requests to die could proceed. Marie-Lys Pellissier is spokesperson for March for Life France.

MARIE-LYS PELLISSIER: La procédure qui est extrêmement rapide. Vous n'avez que deux jours de réflexion obligatoire et le médecin doit rendre sa décision sous 15 jours mais il peut la rendre sous deux jours aussi. Donc ça voudrait dire en quatre jours l'euthanasier fait par exemple au niveau de la collégialité, le médecin doit demander à

VOICEOVER 1: The process is very fast. There is only a two day required reflection period. Then the doctor must make a decision within 15 days, but he can also deliver his decision in as little as two days. So that means that the euthanasia could happen within as little as four days.

But one of the most troubling things about the proposed law is the inclusion of a legal concept called “delit d’entrave.”

OSTERTAG: The “delit d'entrave” in French, means the crime of intervening. And this is a very uniquely French way of passing laws.

France already has delit d’entrave laws regarding abortion, making it a crime to intervene if someone decides to abort their baby. 

Under the law, intervention can mean anything from physically blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic, to attempting to restrict a woman’s access to abortion information online. The laws make it illegal to do sidewalk counseling near abortion facilities. Even counseling a family member not to get an abortion could be prosecuted.

This proposed assisted dying law treats suicide similarly. It would create a “right to die,” and anyone trying to interfere with that right would be liable for a fine of 30 thousand euros—about 35 thousand U.S. dollars—and up to two years in jail.

OSTERTAG: And what this would do in practice is it would prohibit anyone from attempting to dissuade someone from committing suicide via assisted suicide in euthanasia, it would prohibit anyone from trying to dissuade a doctor from performing a euthanasia. Essentially, if you try to to stop or to interrupt the process of someone requesting or someone ultimately dying by euthanasia and assisted suicide, that would be penalized, and it would be considered an attack on their rights.

The Assembly struck down numerous proposed amendments to protect suicide prevention organizations and the conscience rights of doctors, pharmacists, and psychologists. 

The bill also has no conscience provision to protect establishments like religious nursing homes, in spite of testimony from nuns representing the care facilities.

PELLISSIER: Elles ont pris la parole en disant en fait si vous nous imposez cette loi nous on peut pas accepter qu'il y ait l'euthanasie dans notre établissement donc on sera obligé de fermer.

VOICEOVER 2: They said, “we cannot accept euthanasia in our establishment, and so if you impose this law on us, we will be forced to close.”

Pellissier says that without a conscience clause, the law would force many caregivers to quit their jobs. The country already struggles with a low number of caregivers. Losing more would create a situation she says the country’s healthcare system can’t afford.

Ostertag predicts assisted suicide proponents will continue their push. Some National Assembly deputies have already said that the logical next step would be euthanasia for those with non-terminal disabilities, or disabled children.

OSTERTAG: And this is a part of the ideology that we must be the masters of our own Destiny and always, including death, it is essentially the total rejection of God and the putting oneself as God.

If the National Assembly votes for the law, the proposal moves on to the Senate, which was largely against the law in the first reading. But if the two chambers can’t find consensus, it’s the National Assembly that has the final say.

PELLISSIER: C'est Pas fini et nous on ne perd pas espoir de continuer à Se battre contre ce texte. Et puis même Si jamais, si jamais ça passe, on sera toujours là Pour un jour l'abroger Et pour pouvoir toujours défendre les plus vulnérables.

Pellesier says that she—and others who share her conviction that life is precious—will continue working to defend the most vulnerable. 

Even if doing so comes with a price.

That’s this week’s World Tour. I’m Jenny Lind Schmitt in Delle, France.

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