Odette’s choice: What was left unsaid by France 2 on euthanasia in Canada
The programme Envoyé Spécial broadcast by France 2 on Thursday 30th January 2025 on the euthanasia of a woman from Quebec poses grave concerns regarding the partiality of the reporting and the militancy of the journalists.
Mediatic orchestration
Filmed during the 5 days preceding her euthanasia, disguised under the expression “medical assistance in dying” or MAiD, Odette, a 64-year-old woman suffering from cancer which had become incurable, adopts a militant approach with a view to “demystifying” programmed death.
Announced several days beforehand on the social networks, on France 2 News via a special magazine, the same information being repeated by France Info in particular, the broadcast date was carefully chosen to tie in with the debate on the end of life which was scheduled to take place at the beginning of February.
Among the guests invited to the screening première, were euthanasia supporters, such as members of the ADMD lobby, (association for the right to die with dignity), MP Falorni, the author of a bill on the subject, and MP Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, the reporter on the end-of-life law prior to the dissolution of Parliament, is proof that diversity of opinions was not intented.
The broadcast ended with a plea by a journalist to change the law in France.
Not the slightest suggestion of any contradictory opinions, or even thoughts whereas the excesses of the law in Canada have been the subject of several studies and witness accounts in the media.
A practice which is nevertheless controversial
Quebec holds the world record for the number of euthanasia at 7% of deaths in 2023. Concerned about such a high rate, the Commission for end-of-life care, through a reminder of the law, has charged doctors in Quebec who practice euthanasia termed “medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to follow the law more rigorously. Several infringements were recorded: non-compliant euthanasia practices or “administered at the borderline of the specified conditions”, or lack of rigour regarding a second doctor’s opinion and “shopping around” i.e. turning towards doctors who are less strict. They also point out that ageing is not an incurable disease and is not a justification for MAiD.
A scientific study published in August 2023 titled The Realities of Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada, warned of serious discrepancies in euthanasia procedures. The authors concluded that “The Canadian system of medical assistance in dying does not provide adequate protection measures, for the collection of data and the necessary monitoring for the protection of Canadians against premature death.”
It should be noted that during the presentation of the report, a journalist asserted that no doctors or carers have the right to offer assistance in dying: that assertion, taken up by the Canadian doctor during the report, is in fact devoid of any truth and is deceitful.
No wording in the law prohibits euthanasia being proposed as an option. The lethal act is presented as a “treatment” among others. Several Canadians have reported being offered such a proposal rather than a protocol of curative or palliative care. For example, a woman suffering from Spina Bifida reported in July 2024 having been offered euthanasia several times whereas she was merely hoping to be correctly accompanied and cared for.
In 2022, the AP News press agency relayed the concern voiced by the UN, alarmed at the consequences of the Canadian law on euthanasia for the rights of the handicapped. In a lengthy report, several cases were quoted of handicapped people being driven to euthanasia, as well as people who agree to it through a lack of financial means.
The obvious absentees from the Special Envoy broadcast
Ten years ago, Quebec (prior to any law being adopted at the federal level) legalised euthanasia under the expression Medical Assistance In Dying.
A Radio Canada podcast titled “Free death: 10 years of medical assistance in dying” provides a status report in episode 4 on the concerns about the “slippery slope” by quoting various opinions and experiences.
What are the main controversies? Other than the high figures, the ultra rapid evolutions of the law with, since 2019, the possibility of euthanasia for people who are not at their end of life, which seriously affects the handicapped in the context of the deterioration of access to care. This is also highlighted by two authors who issued a status report under the heading The Troubling Normalisation of Medically Administered Death in Quebec and in Canada.
Programmed death is tending to become the new norm in order to “make a success of dying” and economic considerations never fail to surface: a woman stated that she preferred to hasten her death such that her care would not bear excessively on her inheritance.
Emotion and disinformation
The strength of witness statements, beyond the emotions caused, should not however prevent the reflection on a subject as serious and sensitive as suffering and the end of life. The unequivocal and repeated comments by the journalists at France 2, indicate that the reporting in fact aimed to deliver a message to the French politicians to make them legalise euthanasia at last. Such partiality is dangerous in that it offers no means to viewers for thinking, or understanding of the Canadian realities. Rather than militant reporting, one could be justified in expecting a public broadcast channel to show more professionalism and responsibility.
