Last weekend, Catherine Vautrin is fighting to sleep. The Minister of Health is preparing the last details of his speech, before the beginning of the examination of two proposals of laws at the end of life, one over palliative care, the other destined to create an aid to die, is very sensitive.
The experienced chiromene, a member of several governments in his political career, is back at the Bourbon Palace to lead this fight. In a cozy atmosphere, the severity of the subject requires. In January 2024, the former -LR, preceded in the final stretch, not Elisabeth, born by Matignon in 2022, had entered the government with this archive at the top of the battery.
Emmanuel Macron had informed him in advance about his intention to announce a bill, which will do in March in a double interview on the cross and liberation. Then he set out to defend him. No certainty, as in many political representatives. Catherine Vautrin acknowledged in Le Parisien this Sunday that she herself has “chemistry.”
Divisions for the Government, “very serene” Vautrina
A year and a half later, the political landscape has changed to a large extent. The newly elected National Assembly after the dissolution determined by Emmanuel Macron, who stopped the examination of the bill, led in the summer of 2024 to an even more relative majority than the previous one for the presidential camp. In addition, LR, yesterday additional force for the search for commitments, entered the government.
Your representatives with. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau does not hide his opposition to help die. The latter denounced in April “an abandonment text” that goes “in the very bad sense.” “Today’s text is so permissive, tomorrow I fear is that it is much easier to ask for death than be careful,” he argued in LCI.
Similarly, the reluctance of Prime Minister François Bayrou is known. Symbol of divisions, Yannick Neuder, delegated minister in charge of health with Catherine Vautrin, also published reservations, asking for more palliative care.
A subject in the entourage of Catherine Vautrin. “The minister is very serene compared to all this. It is normal for each member of the government, such as the French and parliamentarians in other places, can have their sensitivity,” they tell us.
“We are in a debate that touches the intimate, in relation to death, which questions everyone. We cannot say that for the government everything is black or white.”
In the middle of this composite team, Catherine Vautrin walks on eggs. “The road is narrow and I am looking for a balance between those who wish to go much further and those who believe that the current frame is enough,” summarized in Le Parisien, anxious to find a crossing route in this also fractured hemicycle, even if the help of dying received a first green light during his passage in the committee.
Make more help to die
The former president of the Grand Reims wishes to make several modifications to the bill presented by Olivier Falorni (Modem), defender of a long -term legislative advance.
Objective: Supervise the help of dying more. At the moment, this is planned for the main patients, “FIT (s) to express (its) will in a free and illuminated way”, which suffers a “serious and incurable affection” that “commits the vital prognosis in the advanced or terminal phase” and does not support its sufferings.
When taking an opinion of the high authority for health, she wants to act at this last point and define the “advanced phase”, namely “, in an irreversible process marked by the worsening of the state of health that affects the quality of life.” As “the discernment is absolutely important,” Catherine Vautrin also hopes to restore the period of incompressible reflection of 48 hours of doctors agreement. “
In addition, the administration of the lethal subsidiary by the patient “must be the rule”, and the realization by a health teacher “the exception” in the eyes of the minister, while the text provides the two possibilities. Finally, it is about strengthening the collegiality of medical advice authorizing this decision.
If it is not said that this hemicycle will work in its sense, nor that the text is definitively adopted by 2027, Catherine Vautrin hopes to reach a good port. With all the scope it would imply.
The deputy of the Modem Philippe Vigier was not wrong on Monday in the hemicycle, throwing the interested party: “In this same gallery, 50 years ago, Minister of Lady, it was Simone Veil who was there.”
Source: BFM TV
