Frenchman at the center of life support battle dies

The family of Vincent Lambert has confirmed he died at a hospital east of Paris on Thursday morning after 11 years of court battles over whether to discontinue his food and fluids. Doctors began to discontinue Lambert’s life support last week after a final ruling from France’s highest court. France does not allow euthanasia, but it does allow doctors to stop providing nutrition and hydration to someone deemed terminally ill or terminally injured.

In 2008, Lambert, a French psychiatric nurse, was in a motorcycle accident that left him mentally impaired and unable to move or eat. He had received food and fluids through a feeding tube at Reims University Hospital but was able to breathe on his own. Lambert’s wife, Rachel, pushed for removal of the tube for years, saying he never would have wanted artificial life support. His Catholic parents, along with two of his eight siblings, fought for continued tube feeding and wanted to put Lambert in a facility for those with disabilities.

On Wednesday, more than 300 people in support of maintaining measures to keep Lambert alive gathered for a vigil outside the Saint-Sulpice Catholic Church in Paris. Some prayed, while others held signs that read, “Indignation.”