False Claim: France allows incapable people to be euthanized by a doctor’s decision

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition recently published the claim that, under France’s new assisted-dying law, people who “lack capacity due to dementia, low IQ, etc. and have legal guardians, can be euthanized by doctor’s decision”, even when the legal guardian who objects.

This is not true. In fact, the French law says the exact opposite.

To qualify for assisted dying, a person must be capable of expressing a free and informed will. The law then goes even further and explicitly states that a person whose ability to understand and make the decision is seriously impaired during the assisted-dying process cannot be considered capable of expressing a free and informed will.

There is nowhere in the legislation that allows a physician to decide that an incapable person should receive assisted dying because the physician believes it is appropriate or in that person’s best interests.

The person must request assisted dying themselves. They must have the decision-making ability necessary to make that request. They must be able to make a free and informed decision.

If they are incapable of doing that, they are not eligible. That is explicit in the law.

The EPC’s claim about guardians is also misleading to the point of being backwards.

French law does allow some adults who are under legal guardianship or other protective arrangements to request assisted dying. That is because having a guardian does not automatically mean a person is incapable of making every healthcare decision.

If a protected adult is assessed as capable of making this particular decision, the fact that they have a guardian does not give that guardian an automatic veto over their choice.

But contrary to the EPC’s claim, the guardian is not powerless.

The guardian has legal recourse to challenge the approval before an administrative court.

So the actual structure of the French law is:

• A person under guardianship is not automatically presumed incapable.

• The person must be capable of making a free and informed request.

• If their decision-making ability is seriously impaired, they cannot qualify.

• A physician cannot authorize assisted dying for an incapable person on their own discretion.

• If a capable protected adult is approved, their guardian can challenge that approval through the courts.

That is almost the complete opposite of what the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition published.

At this point, this kind of misinformation is difficult to excuse as simple confusion. The relevant provisions in the French law are explicit. Either the EPC does not understand the laws it is presenting itself as an authority on, or it is knowingly describing them in a way that is false.

Is that incompetency or dishonesty?

Neither is acceptable from an organization that routinely participates in Canadian parliamentary hearings, court cases, and public debate about assisted dying.

There are legitimate arguments to be made against MAiD and assisted dying. Those arguments should be based on what the law actually says.

Claiming that France allows doctors to euthanize incapable people with dementia or intellectual disabilities is not one of them.