For Alliance VITA, the decision of the Reims’ judge to appoint Vincent Lambert’s wife as his tutor is surprising and worrisome, even if the implementation of such a measure for 10 years proves that he is not at the end of life and that his condition requires appropriate protection.
This judgment is surprising because the nomination of a third party, outside of the immediate family, completely torn apart for years due to this painful situation, seemed to be the wisest decision. The Public Prosecutor himself had proposed this solution, with Mrs. Rachel Lambert as substitute tutor. The guardianship judge esteemed better to decide the opposite, meaning Mrs. Rachel Lambert as tutor and the Union for the Department and Association of Family services (UDAF) in the Marne as substitute tutor. It is to be feared that this decision will not ease tension however necessary this may be to search for consensual solutions.
This decision is also worrisome for the future, since Mrs. Lambert gave her approval in 2013 to stop hydration and feeding of her husband, until his death according to an “end of life protocol”. Implemented by Dr. Kariger, this protocol was stopped after a month at the request of Vincent’s parents.
Tugdual Derville, General Delegate for Alliance VITA states « for us what seems to be the most surprising in this painful affair, is that Vincent Lambert for such a long time, no longer benefits from specialized care adapted to his condition. It would be disappointing if the new appointment for his tutor should prevent his transfer to a unit for severe cranial trauma. After years of hearing Vincent Lambert presented as a dead man with a suspended sentence, the French risk to forget that he is truly alive. As nearly two thousand other individuals live in a neuro-vegetative or semi-conscious state, and their humanity cannot be denied.”
