France rejects right-to-die plea

[StoryAngel 4]

A French woman with a severely disfiguring and incurable facial tumour has been refused the right to die. Chantal Sebire, a 52-year-old former schoolteacher and mother of three, had asked a court in Dijon, eastern France, to allow doctors to help her die. But while the French have liberalised legislation governing euthanasia, the court ruled the law still did not allow doctors to actively end a life.

The case of Ms Sebire has however sparked intense debate and sympathy. She suffers from an extremely rare form of cancer in the nasal cavity known as an esthesioneuroblastoma. Only 200 cases of the disease have been recorded worldwide in the past two decades.

Appealing on French television last month for the right to die, Ms Sebire said she could no longer see properly, taste or smell. She described how children ran away from her in the street. "One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured," she said. But a magistrate in Dijon said such a request could simply not be granted. "Even if the physical degeneration of Madame Sebire merits compassion, this request can only be rejected under French law," he said. Legislation adopted in 2005 allows families to request that life-support equipment for terminally ill patients but does not allow a doctor to take action to end a patient's life.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy, whom Ms Sebire has urged to intervene in her case, said he had asked his chief health adviser to make contact and help with providing further opinions on her condition. Ms Sebire, who has said she will not appeal Monday's decision, has however indicated she could may go to a country such as Switzerland - where assisted suicide is legal. "I now know how to get my hands on what I need, and if I don't get it in France, I will get it elsewhere," she has said.

Sarah Wootton, of Dignity in Dying, which campaigns in the UK for assisted dying for the terminally ill, said: "It is immensely sad that because France has no assisted dying law, Chantal Sebire will continue to suffer. "It is simply wrong that terminally ill people not just in France, but also in the UK, who are suffering unbearably are not being given the choice to die with dignity."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7301566.stm

[Jenn! 918]

"One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured," she said.

Good point. And the animal can't even express its wishes.

[almaty 19]

i agree too

[mawilson 2,133]

You can always kill yourself, no court permission required.

[HAL 9000 96]

Damn... sucks for her. Is there some death benefit that would be denied (aka insurance) that this patient would forfeit for her survivors if she were to just kill herself?

I don't know about this one...

[Mags 112]

Having seen a photo of this poor woman and how facially disfiguring her condition is (not to mention how painful it must be) I can only say that I hope she does find some peace. Whether that means that she has to travel to another country or dies naturally and with no pain, I hope she achieves it.

Poor, poor woman.

[Peikko 1,575]

I think the point was that getting a Dr to help out would make it easier on the patient in terms of allowing for an easier/less painful passage to death.

[Ban Hammer 15,132]

Disfigured woman found dead after French court rejects euthanasia

PLOMBIERES-LES-DIJON, France (AFP) - A severely disfigured French woman was found dead at her home Wednesday, a local prosecutor said, only two days after a court rejected her request for the right to die, in a case that has stirred much emotion in France.

The high court in Dijon, eastern France, decided Monday to side with the prosecution which argued that current legislation does not allow the doctor of 52-year-old former schoolteacher Chantal Sebire to prescribe lethal drugs.

In her appeal to the court, Sebire had said she did not want to endure further pain and subject herself to an irreversible worsening of her condition. She asked the court to allow her doctor to help her end her life.

Sebire's body was found at her home in the eastern town of Plombieres-les-Dijon in the Bourgogne region on Wednesday afternoon.

The cause of her death was not immediately known, Dijon prosecutor Jean-Pierre Allachi said.

A mother of three, Sebire attracted a strong outpouring of sympathy when she appealed in a television interview last month for the right to "depart peacefully".

Before-and-after pictures of the woman, her face severely deformed, have been featured in the press along withd her account of frightened children who ran away at the sight of her.

Sebire learnt in 2002 that she had developed an esthesioneuroblastoma, an uncommon malignant tumour in the nasal cavity, which she said had led to "atrocious" suffering.

"In 2000, I lost the sense of smell and taste... and I lost my sight in October 2007," she said in the television interview.

"One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured," she said before urging President Nicolas Sarkozy to intervene and grant her request.

Commenting on the case, Justice Minister Rachida Dati said last week that "doctors were not there to prescribe lethal drugs."

Legislation adopted in 2005 allows families to request that life-support equipment for a terminally-ill patient be switched off, but does not allow a doctor to take action to end a patient's life.

Sarkozy asked his chief adviser on health issues to contact Sebire and seek a second opinion on her condition.

Sebire had said she would not appeal the decision rendered Monday and that she would find life-terminating drugs through other means.

"I now know how to get my hands on what I need and if I don't get it in France, I will get it elsewhere," she said.

Only 200 cases of the disease have been recorded worldwide in two decades.

Sebire's death came on the same day as 78-year-old Belgian author Hugo Claus's death by euthanasia while suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are the only European Unions that currently allow euthanasia.

link

[almaty 19]

a sad story all the way through

[StoryAngel 4]

Wow. Thanks for the follow-up, Charles... what a sad story indeed.

[Mags 112]

Poor lady. I hope she now finds some peace.

[Ban Hammer 15,132]

French euthanasia woman overdosed on barbiturates: prosecutor

DIJON, France (AFP) - A severely disfigured French woman, found dead this month after a court rejected her request for euthanasia, took a lethal overdose of barbiturates, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Former schoolteacher Chantal Sebire, 52, suffered from a rare and incurable tumour which severely deformed her face and caused her to lose the sense of smell, taste and finally her eyesight.

Her body was found at her home in Plombieres-les-Dijon on March 19, two days after the high court in the eastern French city of Dijon decided current French law did not allow her doctor to prescribe her lethal drugs.

"The tests conducted reveal the presence in the blood of a toxic concentration of barbiturate, Pentobarbital," prosecutor Jean-Pierre Alacchi told reporters in Dijon.

"The concentration found is three times the lethal level for this product," he said, adding that investigators were working to establish how Sebire obtained the drug, which is not delivered by French pharmacies.

The drug Pentobarbital is commonly used for animal euthanasia and can be legally prescribed for assisted human suicide in Switzerland, Belgium and the US state of Oregon.

In her request to the high court, Sebire said she wanted to put an end to "atrocious suffering" and an irreversible worsening of her condition, called an esthesioneuroblastoma.

The mother-of-three had said she would not appeal the decision and that she would find life-terminating drugs through other means.

Before-and-after pictures of Sebire, along with her account of frightened children who ran away at the sight of her, attracted a strong outpouring of sympathy in France.

The case prompted doctors, politicians and intellectuals calling for a debate on a change to French law to allow euthanasia in exceptional cases.

Legislation adopted in 2005 allows families to request that life-support equipment for a terminally-ill patient be switched off, but does not allow a doctor to take action to end a patient's life.

Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are the only European Union countries that currently allow active euthanasia.

link

[Sister Fracas 5]

I hope she is at peace now....

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I hope she is at peace now....

Ditto sister Fracas, hope she is at peace.

We have already made arrangements for what would be done in case of perpetual illness or vegetative state should happen to either me or the redhead. Living wills are a god sent - and saves all a whole bunch of hoo-ha and having the government decide, the families bicker (i.e. Schiavo case), and everyone on edge for years on end.