French euthanasia case fuels assisted death debate
Pastor Dale Morgan
Monday March 12, 11:10 PM Reuters
*French euthanasia case fuels assisted death debate*
By Thierry Leveque
PERIGUEUX, France (Reuters) - The euthanasia trial of a French doctor
and a nurse charged with killing a terminally ill cancer patient began
on Monday in a case that has fuelled the debate over rules in France on
helping people to die.
Laurence Tramois, a 35-year-old doctor, and nurse Chantal Chanel, 40,
are accused of poisoning Paulette Druais with a fatal dose of potassium
chloride in 2003 when she was suffering from terminal pancreatic cancer.
The two admit the action in a small, rural hospital in southern France,
but say they acted to end the suffering of the 65-year-old patient who
had no hope of recovery.
Druais's family supported their decision, but the pair were taken to
court by the hospital management and could face 30 years in jail if
found guilty.
The case has already sparked controversy in France, where more than
2,000 doctors and nurses signed a petition last week saying they had
themselves performed similar actions and appealing for a change in the
law to allow active euthanasia.
Active euthanasia is illegal in France but a law passed in 2005 allows
doctors to withhold treatment with a patient's consent under certain
circumstances.
The case has already had an echo in the presidential election campaign,
with the opposition Socialist Party coming out in favour of allowing
doctors to end the life of terminally ill patients under certain
circumstances.
It follows a similar controversy in Italy, where prosecutors last week
cleared a doctor after he switched off the life support system of a
terminally ill patient who had asked to die.
Opponents of euthanasia, including the Roman Catholic Church, say the
sanctity of life overrides all other considerations and many also say
that giving doctors the right to kill their patients would be too easily
open to abuse.
Demonstrators in various organisations formed a chain outside the court
in the southwestern town of Perigueux to show support for a change in
the law, although there was disagreement over how far the change should go.
"We need a moderate law, somewhere between the status quo and those who
want the right to assisted suicide," said Vincent Lena, of an
association called Let's do something!.
Active euthanasia is legal in the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.