Whereas the French MPs have begun their 3rd reading of the bill aimed at legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide, gatherings took place in over fifty towns throughout France at the calling of Alliance VITA.
In Paris, close to the National Assembly and in more than fifty towns throughout France, simultaneous demonstrations were held by citizens who reject this dangerous and unfair bill and who defend a society promoting solidarity and the protection of the most vulnerable.
The central message of the demonstration, "Our dying are not a burden", was broadcast simultaneously throughout the land through a scenography acting as a warning : "No life is too much".
When confronted with suffering, prefer accompaniment
When confronting disease, handicap, dependency and old age, a society founded on fraternity should not impose a biased choice between suffering and death, but should give itself the means to care, relieve and accompany the most fragile of its members without jeopardising their life.
A text heavy in consequences
In the context of the tensions on the health system and the inequality of access to palliative care, the participants denounced the consequences of such a law on :
- The universality of suicide prevention policies.
- The very meaning of care and the carer-patient relationship.
- The way of considering the most fragile, who could feel "a burden"
Tugdual Derville, the Alliance VITA spokesman, stated :
"We should be well aware that at the end of any life, there is a severe risk of being pushed towards the exit through a lack of attention, consideration, or accompaniment. Through lassitude, impatience, selfishness. […] There is talk of an individual right, but it is largely the view which we all hold of the most fragile which can maintain or not their will to live. The law being debated would have a particularly unfair impact: stigmatising, discriminatory, discouraging. It would designate a category of people whose life is unworthy of protection."
A demonstration in defence of a different vision of society
Through these gatherings, the mobilised participants shared their claims being put forward by Alliance VITA :
- To make accompaniment and relief of those most afflicted, the foundation for solidarity,
- To safeguard the universality of suicide prevention,
- To render effective access to palliative care enforceable,
- To protect the health system from the worst abuse, that which considers deliberate poisoning as a care.
A mobilisation intended to endure
Alliance VITA conclusion :
"On our part, we shall always remain mobilised for the protection of the most afflicted as that is our very reason for being and for demonstrating: solidarity with the most vulnerable."
Further reading
All the information on the mobilisation can be found on our web site under Our dying are not a burden.