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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.

Original publication

DOI

10.1136/medethics-2017-104484

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Med Ethics

Publication Date

03/2018

Volume

44

Pages

204 - 205

Keywords

end-of-life, euthanasia, law, pain management, Deep Sedation, Ethics, Medical, France, Humans, Hypnotics and Sedatives, Legislation, Medical, Pain, Patient Rights, Stress, Psychological, Terminal Care