![[Press Release] Alliance VITA Denounces Abortion Law Forced Through and Calls for an Abortion Prevention Policy](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/web-OZ7A9154-1080x675.jpg)
by Claire Anne Brule | February 10, 2022 | Abortion, Press Releases
February 10, 2022
Abortion Law: Alliance VITA denounces forcing through the new abortion law and calls for a genuine abortion prevention policy
After 1½ years of parliamentary bitter rows, the new abortion bill “aiming at strengthening the right to abortion” was submitted by a minority group and finally voted by the deputies, with France’s presidential election just two months away. Alliance VITA finds disgraceful the way the government used the abortion issue at the very end of this 5-year term to be. All the more so as President Macron, on several occasions, had voiced his opposition to extending the abortion time limit, saying it was ” more traumatizing” for women to terminate pregnancies at a later point. But surprisingly the government decided to back the law and push it through last December, without bothering to carry out an evaluation of its’ impact.
Extending abortion deadlines is a hard hit against women, especially since this law does not include any support for women who would prefer not to abort. As the abortion rates in France are more than double the rate in Germany, the emotional issue of abortion deserves better than a fake debate manipulated for political purposes which are completely out of touch with the real life of pregnant women.
A study published in 2019 clearly demonstrated that women with the lowest standards of living had recourse to abortion more often, thus establishing that abortion is a distinctive marker of social inequality. Consequently, this must be dealt with accordingly, and not reduced to the questionable status of a “right” that turns a deaf ear to the voice of pregnant women facing an unexpected pregnancy and who reluctantly turn to abortion. Ignoring this reality is a serious injustice, considering the fact that abortion is an irreversible act where lives are at stake.
Moreover, in October 2020, an IFOP survey revealed that 92% of the French people surveyed believe that abortion leaves psychological scars that are difficult for women to live with and 73% believe that society should do more to help women avoid abortion.
Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s Assistant General Delegate insists:
“It is illusory to think that all women abort of their own free will and after a deliberate personal choice. Rather than extending deadlines, it is urgent is to protect women from all kinds of violence, including pressure from their partner to abort against their will, as well as from social and economic hardships. It is urgent to carry out a real epidemiological study of the causes, conditions and consequences of abortion. During the presidential campaign, we call for implementing a genuine abortion prevention policy, including easier access to information on pregnant women’s rights and social assistance available to them.”
by Claire Anne Brule | February 4, 2022 | News, Euthanasia and Suicide
On 21 December 2021, the French Council of State rejected the Preliminary Question of Constitutionality made by the Swiss association Dignitas to counter the ban on pentobarbital, a drug within the barbiturate class.
On September 22, 2021, when Dignitas submitted the Preliminary Question of Constitutionality , it was widely publicized to urge the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide in the name of a so-called “right to die with dignity”.
Pentobarbital is a powerful barbiturate, allowed in Switzerland and Belgium for assisted suicides. It is also sometimes used in the United States to execute condemned inmates.
The Swiss activist association had declared in a release that “in France, the current legislation on the end of life, the Claeys Leonetti law, is inadequate (…) pentobarbital is regarded as the most reliable and safest way to end one’s own life. In Switzerland it has been used for many years for assisted suicide.” Dignitas prides itself on its’ role in having assisted suicide recognized by the German and Austrian constitutional courts.
In France, any person involved in a legal proceeding can invoke the “Preliminary Question of Constitutionality” to argue that a legislative provision infringes on his rights and freedoms as guaranteed by the Constitution.
This current dispute involved a case of pentobarbital trafficking which was broken up in 2020. Activists of the pro-euthanasia association “Ultimate Freedom” were suspected of trafficking when 130 vials of the drug were found in their possession.
When filing its’ complaint, the association quoted article L. 5132-8 of the Public Health Code which states that: “The production, manufacture, transportation, import, export, holding, supply, transfer, acquisition and use of plants, substances or preparations classified as poisonous are subject to conditions defined in decrees by the Council of State. These decrees may prohibit any transaction relating to these plants and substances. They can, for instance, after having consulted the National Academies of Medicine and Pharmacy, prohibit some plants, substances, or derivatives from being prescribed or incorporated into substances. The conditions for prescribing and dispensing such preparations are specified after obtaining the recommendations from the national councils for the Order of Physicians and the Order of Pharmacists”. In addition, any substances classified as narcotic are also subject to additional independent criminal penalties as specified in articles L. 5432-1 to L. 5432-5.
In its’ decision to refuse qualifying the issue as a Preliminary Question of Constitutionality, the Council of State judged that article L. 5132-8 of the public health code was not applicable to the dispute in question, which is one of the required conditions for it to be transferred to the Constitutional Council. But Dignitas, invoking the negative incompetence of the legislator, contended that any measures banning pentobarbital would prevent recognizing or exercising a “right to die with dignity”.
Nonetheless, the French Council of State ruled that the provisions of the article in question “are part of the special police procedure established by the legislator in order to regulate the operations relating to substances with direct or indirect risks to public health”, so that “such a complaint can only be duly received (…) under the condition of challenging the inadequacies of the established system and not to demand the creation of a specific procedure”.
It is to be noted that the Dignitas Switzerland website explicitly criticizes France for its suicide prevention policy. This is an indication of the association’s ideology, which strives to impose its deadly practices in foreign countries.
![[Press Release] – For a New Outlook on Advanced Age and Loss of Autonomy!](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/vcsPRAsset_3553198_254327_6e526f04-683c-4923-a93a-9e62b8c9084e_0.jpg)
by Claire Anne Brule | February 3, 2022 | Old age and Dependency, Press Releases
PRESS RELEASE – February 3rd, 2022
Invitation to change our outlook on advanced age and loss of autonomy!
On January 29th, 3 days after the launch of a national campaign on 1248 billboards in 7 major cities, hundreds of Alliance VITA volunteers invited the French public to change its’ outlook on advanced age and loss of autonomy.
In 60 cities, throughout metropolitan France and its’ overseas territories, Alliance VITA volunteers distributed thousands of leaflets designed to raise awareness on the plight of the elderly. These leaflets offer simple, reasonable answers to the fears that everyone experiences regarding advanced old age and have sparked profound conversations with caring and interested passers-by.
This campaign has reached all ages, young and old. Many seniors acknowledged the fears described in the leaflet and are willing to act so that being elderly should not rhyme with despair and “social death”.
This invitation to change our perspective has also aroused the interest of those caring for the elderly on a daily basis, whether caregiver, volunteer or loved ones. Some of them shared their joy in caring for people in vulnerable situations, while others highlighted the difficult challenges and lamented the lack of support.
Alliance VITA’s awareness campaign coincided with the release of a new book which investigates on negligence and mistreatment within the French retirement home group, Orpea. Many are troubled by these revelations while some caregivers are worried that despite their daily professional dedication, they may also be stereotyped as abusive.
Echoing the fears of mistreatment described in the leaflet, this book highlights the issue of advanced aging and loss of autonomy; a topic rarely mentioned at the beginning of a presidential campaign. Beyond denouncing mistreatments, Alliance VITA’s awareness campaign invites all citizens to stand by our elders to keep up their “joie de vie”.
“Changing our outlook to change someone’s life” is a steadfast call for every citizen to join forces with the elders to invent ways of life which allow for generations to stay in touch, and to accept everyone, in particular those who are most vulnerable.
Faced with so many attempts to legalize euthanasia, Alliance VITA appeals for the presidential candidates to commit themselves with the French people not to abandon elders and those who are vulnerable, not to push them further onto society’s margins. This entails 3 priorities:
- Submit and finally vote on the Advanced Age and Autonomy law which has been unjustly postponed throughout the past five-year presidential term.
- Decide that humanizing nursing homes is a national cause which involves all generations.
- Make palliative care accessible to seniors living at home and in nursing homes.
Refer to this link for the national campaign: www.alliancevita.org/changeons-nos-regards-pour-changer-sa-vie/. Click here for press kit. Press Contact +33 6 67 77 14 80contactpresse@alliancevita.org mailto:contactpresse@alliancevita.org
by Claire Anne Brule | January 26, 2022 | Old age and Dependency, Press Releases
PRESS RELEASE – January 26th, 2022
Alliance VITA launches a national campaign to change our perception of advanced age and loss of autonomy.
“Changing one’s outlook can change someone’s life” is the theme for Alliance VITA’s 360° campaign. Running from January 26th to February 3rd, there will be a total of 1248 billboard posters in the train stations of Paris, Nantes, Strasbourg, Marseille, Montpellier, Lille, Nice; as well as the bus stops throughout Paris. Alliance VITA members will also distribute leaflets throughout France on January 29th. In addition, this campaign is launched on social media networks.
Prompted by Alliance VITA’s experience through its SOS End-of-Life Listening Service, this campaign is also the results of many communications triggered out by several major national investigations concerning the end of life. In a society where precedence is given to individualism, strength, performance and profitability, the vulnerability of the elderly is a reminder for everyone’s personal fears: the fear of being a burden, of being repulsive, of being alone …. And when these fears are ignored, they can account for sadness, despair and temptations towards ethical abuses as can sometimes be observed at the end of life.
In France, those over age 75 commit suicide twice as much as the rest of the population* and 530,000 elderly people are experiencing a “social death” **. Advanced age and loss of autonomy are too often associated with despair!
This campaign is a call for all of us to change our perception of the elderly, so that they can have the place they deserve at the heart of our society until the end. On its website page (alliancevita.org) Alliance VITA invites everyone to get involved by undertaking tangible actions to show solidarity. Considering the repeated attempts to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, it is essential to focalize on the vital issues of advanced age and loss of autonomy at the end of life.
“The central theme of ‘changing one’s outlook can change someone’s life’ is first and foremost a humanitarian appeal for each of us to get involved in the fight against fear and despair. We will continue to convey this message in the coming months to raise awareness and act for more dignity towards the elderly, and for more respect of their life. Confronted with the constant pushes nudging us towards accepting euthanasia, we will continue our fight for solidarity and mutual assistance so that every elderly person can be well-treated, feel well-respected, and not abandoned, and can still make choices for himself” concludes Tugdual Derville, spokesman for Alliance VITA.
*National Suicide Observatory 2020
** According to the statistical report on loneliness and isolation of those over 60 published by the Petits Frères des Pauvres (Little Brothers of the Poor) association. Refer to this link for the national campaign: www.alliancevita.org/changeons-nos-regards-pour-changer-sa-vie/. Click here for press kit.
Press Contact: +33 6 67 77 14 80 contactpresse@alliancevita.org mailto:contactpresse@alliancevita.org
![[Press Release] – European Political Posturing on Abortion Policy](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/et_temp/Macron-ivg2-189741_1080x675.jpg)
by Claire Anne Brule | January 19, 2022 | Abortion, Press Releases
PRESS RELEASE – January 19th, 2022
European Political posturing on Abortion Policy
Alliance VITA vigorously denounces French President Macron’s political posturing as European President of the Council of the European Union. Indeed he presented his intension to insert a “right to abortion” in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as a priority for his presidency. This idea has nothing at all to do with the EU priorities since abortion policies do not fall under the EU jurisdiction.
Advocating for a “right to abortion” to be inserted in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union unabashedly turns a blind eye to the violence that abortion often entails for many women. In France, a study found that women with lower incomes had more abortions than others. Abortion is clearly a marker of social inequality. Therefore, it cannot be dealt with as if it were a trivial thing, and even less with a simplistic perspective of a questionable right.
Just now as the French Senate is about to veto the controversial abortion law for the second time, the President’s statement is out of place and out of touch with the hardships women are confronted with. And this goes againts his repeated comments voicing his opposition to extending abortion deadlines, and his awareness of the trauma that abortion entails.
Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s Assistant General Delegate declares:
“Tackling the painful abortion issue head-on, with no prior discussion, with no mention of prevention policies nor assistance is a violent affront to women. Many women long for assistance to help them avoid an abortion which is frequently resorted to under pressure. The abolition of the death penalty, which President Macron mentioned, and the right to life are both stated in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. This clearly shows how inconsistant President Macron is. More than ever it is essential to make a real assessment of the causes, conditions and consequences of abortion at both national and European levels. The French presidency should bring this indisputable improvement in order to protect women. »
