Right to die, right to life, euthanasia, assisted suicide, dignity, human rights, European Convention on Human Rights, Article 2, Article 8, private life, end-of-life care, Loi Claeys-Leonetti
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Abstract
The document discusses the legal recognition of the right to die with dignity and its compatibility with the principle of the right to life, as per the European Convention on Human Rights.
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[...] Procedural guarantees necessary ? Strict criteria : incurable disease, unbearable suffering, capacity for discernment, absence of external pressure. ? Collaborative procedure : several doctors, ethics committees, consultation of the trusted person. ? Transparency : maintenance of files, obligation to inform, control by external instances. ? Respect of the principle of proportionality : Any interference with article 8 (private life) must be provided for by law, pursue a legitimate purpose (protection of life), and be proportionate to the objectives. The ECHR emphasizes this requirement. 3. [...]
[...] The right to life aims to protect life against any external harm, including self-destruction. Transforming it into a right to die could reverse the purpose of the law itself. ? In the CEDH rulings, even when a choice of end-of-life is admitted as relevant to Article the Court never recognizes an absolute right to death; it emphasizes the need for a protective legal framework. ? Some authors insist that dignity does not consist of ending life, but of living it out to the end in respect for oneself and one's choices. [...]
[...] Thus, in France, the right to die with dignity is regulated by legal devices that seek to reconcile the patient's autonomy and the protection of life. A more expansive European recognition At the European level, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has examined several applications concerning assisted dying or end-of-life care. Its jurisprudence, cautious, has nonetheless opened the way for an implicit recognition of the right to die as a component of the right to private life. 1. Pretty v. [...]
[...] Of indispensable guarantees of assisted dying Even if the support of dignity and autonomy argues for a cautious recognition of the right to die with dignity, this recognition must be accompanied by strict safeguards. 1. Risks of derails and pressure on vulnerable people ? A right to die could become a a duty to die for the elderly, seriously ill or economically vulnerable. ? Certain experiences (Belgium, Netherlands) show that the progressive extension of euthanasia has raised controversies (minors, mental disorders, non-terminal illnesses). ? The current French project ('assisted dying'), adopted by the Assembly in 2025, raises criticism regarding the risk of unequal access and pressure on the weakest patients. [...]
[...] Can there be a right to die with dignity while respecting the principle of the right to life ? A growing legal recognition of assisted dying A progressive internal consecration France has not (yet) legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide, but the legislator has progressively set up a framework allowing certain practices that enable 'dying with dignity', while preserving the principle of the right to life. 1. Loi Leonetti (22 April 2005) ? It imposes that medical acts are not pursued by an unnecessary therapeutic pursuit; when they are disproportionate or when their sole effect is the artificial maintenance of life, they may be suspended. ? [...]
