French woman Chantal Sebire died at the age of 52 at her home near Dijon. Sebire suffered from a rare form of cancer that disfigured her entire face, eventually robbing her of her eyesight, capacity to smell, and that left her in severe pain. Sebire campaigned during her last months for her right to died a death with dignity, in other words, she requested that France permit her doctors to help her die. Voluntary euthanasia as well as any other form of euthanasia is illegal in France, hence her request was denied. As the court in Dijon, in rejecting her plea pointed out, 'Even if the physical degeneration of Madame Sebire merits compassion, this request can only be rejected under French law.'
As Ms Sebire pointed out, 'One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured.' The BBC reports, 'Legislation adopted in 2005 allows families to request that life-support equipment for terminally ill patients be switched off, but does not allow a doctor to take action to end a patient's life.'
Yet another example where zealot pro-life legislation trumps the decisions of competent individuals who make a voluntary decision to end their lives when they see fit. Sebire is right, we would not permit an animal to be treated as she was. She mentions that children eventually ran away from her when she walked in the streets of Dijon, while she was still capable of doing so. A truly tragic case.
