Paris courthouse, on December 12, 2020. MANUEL COHEN / AFP
Twelve activists accused of helping people in France to obtain a euthanasia drug illegally went on trial in Paris on Monday, September 15, as the country debates a right-to-die bill. The defendants, aged 74 to 89, are members of Ultime Liberte (Ultimate Freedom), an association that fights to legalize assisted dying in France. They are accused of helping dozens of people purchase pentobarbital, a drug used for physician-assisted suicide in countries such as Belgium and Switzerland, between August 2018 and November 2020.
Many of them are retired teachers with no criminal record, now facing charges of trafficking illegal substances. If convicted, they risk up to 10 years in prison, although any sentences are expected to be much more lenient, given mitigating factors including their age. Bernard Senet, a doctor on trial, said he had helped people who were suffering to die in better conditions. "I am at peace because I do not feel guilty," he said.
In France, pentobarbital is only authorized to euthanize animals, while in the United States, the drug is used to carry out executions. Few countries regulate assisted dying, and in many, it remains a crime to help someone end their life, even in cases of severe and incurable suffering. In May, France's lower house of parliament approved a right-to-die bill on first reading, the initial step in a lengthy process that could grant patients medical assistance to end their lives in clearly defined circumstances.
