Current State of Health in France
An annual report on the health status of the French population has just been published by the "DREES", the National Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics.
"News"
No Consensus in Sight for Legalizing Euthanasia in France
Earlier this month President Emmanuel Macron declared to the actress, Line Renaud, in regard to euthanasia: "This is the time for it, so it will be done."
The Werther effect or “Copycat” Suicides
In 1774, Goethe's novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” which ends with a young man’s suicide was published. Quite a number of young readers imitated Werther, the book’s hero, to the point that the rise in suicide rates was a direct cause for having this book banned in many countries.
French Ethics Committee’s Deadly Volte-Face on Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide
On September 13, 2022, the “CCNE” (French National Consultative Ethics Committee) published recommendation N° 139. Essentially it recommends for palliative care to be reinforced and for "some unavoidable ethical prerequisites" in the event that euthanasia and assisted suicide are legalized.
Alliance VITA’s UN Contribution on Human Rights of Older Persons
In Geneva, on August 29 and 30, 2022, a UN meeting on the human rights of older persons was held to discuss the gaps and fragmentation in the protection of human rights of older persons in international laws.
French Gamete Donations No Longer Anonymous; Unresolved Issues for ART with Third Party Donors
On September 1, 2022, the 2021 French Bioethics law comes into force, meaning that gamete donations will no longer be anonymous. Children born of assisted procreation (IVF or insemination) with a third-party donor, will be able, when they reach age 18, to request the removal of anonymity of the donor, man or women, who gave his gamete and who is at the origin of their life.