Enfermer la mort entre médecine et loi ?

The National Centre Of Palliative Care And End of Life (CNSP-FV) has been created in France in January 2016. At the same time, financial support was obtained for a new plan for development of palliative care (2015-2018). Our analysis of the decree is that this new institution is not innovative in its missions because they were already undertaken by the National End of Life Observatory and National Resource Centre of Palliative Care (ONFV and CNDR), that are now merged. We wonder if this structural organization is not symptomatic of a significant restriction of financial resources allocated by government to the development of palliative care (€ 190 million over 3 years) while needs and the catch up to fill in are still considerable. We question the willingness of governments to put forward the information on advanced directives and the person of trust (tools of the law) more than promoting and expanding the access to palliative care (care for and support the people). Furthermore, we are critical and perplexed about the composition of the Strategic Orientation Committee of the new organism that does not seem to embody the multidisciplinary and openness necessary for societal thinking of questions related to the end of human life and the necessity of taking care of vulnerable people and their relatives. Where humanity needs are becoming increasingly urgent, we fear an increasing utilitarian and procedural shift.