France passes right-to-die bill
2004-11-30 20:56
Paris - The French parliament on Tuesday unanimously passed, with three abstentions, a bill giving terminally ill patients the right to "passive" euthanasia.
Under the legislation, patients may ask that medical treatment, including artificial feeding and the use of life-support machines to artificially prolong life, be discontinued. The bill will allow patients a dignified death but does not permit "active" euthanasia.
The bill was proposed by Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, himself a doctor, on the basis that it would clarify existing medical practice in hospitals.
An estimated 150 000 people die in French hospitals every year as a result of decisions by medical staff to halt treatment or turn off life-support systems. The new law will also protect doctors who make such decisions from being taken to court. - dpa
- SAPA