on euthanasia
French Woman Who Sought Euthanasia Dies
By MIKAEL HOLTER, Associated Press
A woman who suffered from a painful facial tumor and had drawn headlines across France with her quest for doctor-assisted suicide was found dead Wednesday, an official said.
Chantal Sebire, a former schoolteacher and mother of three, was found at her home in the eastern French town of Plombieres-les-Dijon, a government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The circumstances of her death were not immediately clear.
Sebire, 52, was diagnosed nearly eight years ago with esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer. The illness left her blind, and with no sense of smell or taste, her lawyer said. She could not use morphine to ease the intense eye pain because of the side effects.
On Monday, a court in the city of Dijon rejected Sebire's request to be allowed to receive a lethal dose of barbiturates under a doctor's supervision. It refused the request for doctor-assisted suicide because of French law and out of concern for medical ethics.
Sebire's case revived a debate in France about the right to die. She received national attention after the media published heartbreaking before-and-after pictures that made her suffering instantly apparent. The tumor had burrowed through her sinuses and nasal cavities, causing her nose to swell to several times its original size, and pushing one of her eyes out of her head.
Unlike in France, euthanasia is legal in both Belgium and the Netherlands, and Luxembourg is in the process of passing a law to allow it. In Switzerland, counselors or physicians can prepare the lethal dose, but patients must take it on their own.
My view:
I think people should be able to decide for themselves how much suffering to tolerate. I also think enlisting the aid of a doctor can be a good idea in order to make sure the job is finished as comfortably and completely as possible. The patient should also have medical confirmation that his/her condition is either terminal or the suffering incurable. A botched suicide could be a much greater disservice to the patient and his survivors. Worse yet, people who physically cannot kill themselves sometimes need help when they might prefer to end their pain but have no choice.
By MIKAEL HOLTER, Associated Press
A woman who suffered from a painful facial tumor and had drawn headlines across France with her quest for doctor-assisted suicide was found dead Wednesday, an official said.
Chantal Sebire, a former schoolteacher and mother of three, was found at her home in the eastern French town of Plombieres-les-Dijon, a government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The circumstances of her death were not immediately clear.
Sebire, 52, was diagnosed nearly eight years ago with esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer. The illness left her blind, and with no sense of smell or taste, her lawyer said. She could not use morphine to ease the intense eye pain because of the side effects.
On Monday, a court in the city of Dijon rejected Sebire's request to be allowed to receive a lethal dose of barbiturates under a doctor's supervision. It refused the request for doctor-assisted suicide because of French law and out of concern for medical ethics.
Sebire's case revived a debate in France about the right to die. She received national attention after the media published heartbreaking before-and-after pictures that made her suffering instantly apparent. The tumor had burrowed through her sinuses and nasal cavities, causing her nose to swell to several times its original size, and pushing one of her eyes out of her head.
Unlike in France, euthanasia is legal in both Belgium and the Netherlands, and Luxembourg is in the process of passing a law to allow it. In Switzerland, counselors or physicians can prepare the lethal dose, but patients must take it on their own.
My view:
I think people should be able to decide for themselves how much suffering to tolerate. I also think enlisting the aid of a doctor can be a good idea in order to make sure the job is finished as comfortably and completely as possible. The patient should also have medical confirmation that his/her condition is either terminal or the suffering incurable. A botched suicide could be a much greater disservice to the patient and his survivors. Worse yet, people who physically cannot kill themselves sometimes need help when they might prefer to end their pain but have no choice.