La sédation m'a tué : discussion autour des propositions du rapport de la commission de réflexion sur la fin de vie en France

The report submitted by the commission Sicard to the president of the French Republic, François Hollande, on December 18th, 2012, discussed, among other proposals, the question of the possibility of “a lethal act in final stages of support care at the end of life”. This act seems for the commission to be equated with sedation as envisaged by the Law Leonetti in its second article and, therefore, with the sedation for intractable distress of terminal illness, which is the practical application. This assimilation seems to us dangerous for the sedation for intractable distress of terminal illness because it is condemned to failure or to renunciation. Indeed, if the sedation doesn't abbreviate patient's days, it cannot play the role written by the commission Sicard, the “lethal action” is understood, by definition, as accelerating the death. If the sedation abbreviates patient's days, it cannot be called sedation longer, the voluntary nature of anticipating death seems to us clearly euthanasia. We repeat that, not to lose sight of its goal, which is only to relieve the patient, the sedation must have a clear legal framework and precise definition, this last point seems to us challenged by the Sicard report.