Debate on assisted dying: France's religious leaders warn of possible "serious abuses"

French leaders of the main religious denominations warned on Thursday, May 15, of "serious excesses" and the "radical shift" that they believe could result from the proposed law on assisted dying, which has been debated since Monday in the National Assembly .

"Behind an apparent desire for compassion and supervision, this text brings about a radical shift: it legally introduces the possibility of administering death – by assisted suicide or euthanasia – by profoundly disrupting the foundations of medical and social ethics," they denounce in a column sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The text is signed by Antony Boussemart, co-president of the Buddhist Union of France; ^Bishop Dimitrios, president of the Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France; Chems-eddine Hafiz, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris; Haïm Korsia, chief rabbi of France; Pastor Christian Krieger, president of the Protestant Federation of France; and ^Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the Conference of Bishops of France. The Conference of Religious Leaders in France (CRCF) "solemnly warns of the serious abuses implied" by this proposed law, they write.

Among their many grievances, they deplore, among other things, the "terminology" adopted - assisted dying - which "masks the true nature of the act" and a "misuse of medicine" . "Many caregivers express their dismay: being responsible for causing the death of a patient constitutes a radical transgression of their mission, and risks establishing a culture of death where medicine has always been constructed as a service of care for life" , they write.

They also point to a lack of "ethical and procedural guarantees" provided, particularly regarding the time limits for processing the request (fifteen days) and the applicants' consideration (forty-eight hours). "The introduction of this "right" risks exerting a hidden but real pressure on the elderly, the sick, or those with disabilities. The mere existence of such an option can induce toxic guilt in patients, that of being a burden," the religious leaders believe.

Seeing in the text the prospect of an "anthropological rupture" , their platform calls for the "discernment" of parliamentarians. "Legalizing administered death will not be progress but an ethical, social and medical regression. We must choose investment in palliative care, training in listening, and comprehensive support for people until the end of their lives," they add.

A divisive issue even within the government , the question of end-of-life issues returned to the National Assembly on Monday. MPs are scheduled to spend two weeks debating two separate bills, one on palliative care and the other on the creation of assisted dying.