France Senate rejects Euthanasia by Dehydration.

This article was published by Wesley Smith's on his blog on June 23.

Wesley Smith

By Wesley Smith

Recently I wrote about how the French Senate was considering legalizing terminal sedation as a way to kill the terminally ill.

That column also distinguished between the slow motion euthanasia by dehydration/starvation and terminal sedation and the legitimate and ethical pain controlling technique of palliative sedation. 

I won’t repeat it here. If you are interested, hit this link. 

In any event, the French Senate wisely said no to slo-mo killings. From the AP story: 

France’s senate has voted against a bill allowing the sedation of terminally ill patients, fearing it would lead to allowing euthanasia, which is illegal in the country. Senators in Paris rejected the law by a vote of 196 - 87. 

Unfortunately, that isn’t the end of it as the National Assembly has passed the bill. Under the French system, that means more legislative process, with the Assembly apparently having the final say...

But the Senate’s overwhelming rejection is good news for ethical medicine–at least for now.

• France debates slow euthanasia.
• Deep sedation: France is in danger of buying a deadly illusion.
• The proper use of palliative sedation is not euthanasia.