France discusses possibility of legalizing assisted suicide

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a national debate on end-of-life options that will include exploring the legalization of assisted suicide, the Associated Press reported. 

A French law from 2016 stipulates that doctors can keep terminally ill patients under sedation before they die, but does not allow assisted suicide. 

In a written statement, Macron said a group of citizens will work on the issue in coordination with health professionals in the coming months, and local debates will be organized in regions of France.

The government plans to hold parallel discussions with lawmakers from all political parties to find the broadest consensus, with a view to implementing the changes next year, the president said in a statement.

Some French patients are traveling to other European countries in search of other options for leaving life. During his campaign for successful reelection this year, Macron promised to open a debate in France, saying he personally favors legalizing physician-assisted suicide.

In Switzerland, assisted suicide, in which seriously ill patients inject themselves with a lethal dose of a drug in the presence of a medical professional, is legal. Euthanasia, a process in which a medical worker directly injects drugs, is now allowed in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Spain under certain conditions.

Macron's statement came on the day the family of French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard reported that he had died in an assisted suicide at his home in the Swiss town of Rolle.

French polls in recent years have consistently shown that an overwhelming majority of the population is in favor of legalizing euthanasia.

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