RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The ‘French exception’: the right to continuous deep sedation at the end of life
JF Journal of Medical Ethics
JO J Med Ethics
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics
SP 204
OP 205
DO 10.1136/medethics-2017-104484
VO 44
IS 3
A1 Ruth Horn
YR 2018
UL http://jme.bmj.com/content/44/3/204.abstract
AB In 2016, a law came into force in France granting terminally ill patients the right to continuous deep sedation (CDS) until death. This right was proposed as an alternative to euthanasia and presented as the ‘French response’ to problems at the end of life. The law draws a distinction between CDS and euthanasia and other forms of sympton control at the end of life. France is the first country in the world to legislate on CDS . This short report describes the particular context and underlying social values that led to this piece of legislation, and explores its meaning in the wider French context.