by NexDev | March 10, 2017 | Uncategorized
On March 6, 2017, a 45-year-old medical anesthetist was indicted, suspected of having premeditated and intentionally poisoned seven patients between 2008-2017, two of whom died, at the Saint-Vincent Clinic and the Franche-Comté Polyclinic in Besançon, France.
Some « unexplained incidents » occurred during surgery on January 11 and 20, 2017 which led the Saint-Vincent Clinic’s management to file a complaint against unknown persons. A similar complaint had been filed after three patients had been received, following heart attacks, at the Franche-Comté Polyclinic in Besançon, where the same doctor had practiced for a short time in 2009. The Polyclinic explains that “an internal medical investigation was initiated due to the circumstances of these serious events” and that they had notified the Regional Health Agency before filing a complaint against an unknown individual.
None of the seven patients, ageing from 37 to 53 years old, had any “particular predispositions or history of problems”. According to the French State Prosecutor the poisonings were not “accidents”; she mentioned “severe and corroborating evidence” and “extremely serious facts”. She explained that the toxicology tests performed on the deceased patients, “revealed high levels of potassium or anesthesia, at lethal doses.” The nature and the doses “deliberately” injected in the IV bags “where they had no reason whatsoever to be present” clearly indicate that these “can only be defined as deliberate acts to provoke the patients’ deaths”. The two patients who died following heart attacks in 2008 and 2016 were a 53-year-old man having kidney surgery, and a 51-year-old lady with a fracture. Neither of them seemed “predisposed” to an accidental injury nor had any kind of “specific vulnerability.” The State Prosecutor also added: « This case will require a number of expert evaluations and even more victims may be discovered”.
The anesthetist’s lawyer refutes “any poisoning whatsoever”, saying his client “spends his life reanimating patients, not killing them”.
Pending the completion of the case, the anesthetist was released under court supervision, is forbidden to practice his profession, and had to post 60,000€ bail. The prosecution, who had requested that he be placed in pre-trial detention, will appeal his placement under court supervision.
by NexDev | March 8, 2017 | News
The French Council of State rejected an appeal from Marseilles Public Hospital’s medical team, thus upholding the injunction to continue life-prolonging treatment for 16-month-old baby Marwa, who has been hospitalized here since September 2016, after an aggressive enterovirus attacked her nervous system.
As this is the final ruling no other appeal can be filed.
On February 9, the Public Health Physicians at the Marseilles Hospital had filed an appeal with the Council of State following the first verdict delivered 2 days earlier when the Administrative Court had ordered the Timone hospital to continue health care for baby Marwa (including respirator and artificial feeding).
Considering the baby’s neurological lesions to be irremediable, the doctors had made a collective and unanimous decision on November 4, 2016 to stop her treatment and switch off the life-supporting respirator. They esteemed it would be hard to evaluate her state of consciousness but most likely it had been severely affected.
According to the judge for the Council of State, continuing her treatment does not constitute “unreasonable therapeutic obstinacy”, a condition which would legally justify stopping treatment. His decision was based on two criteria:
- “some signs of improvement had been observed” although “future prognosis is still uncertain.” And as the Administrative Court in Marseilles had remarked: the judge, as President of the Court, declared that the decision to stop treatment had been taken too prematurely to ascertain the extent of the neurological damage.
- « respecting the parents’ opinion is of particular importance », “since the child is incapable of expressing her decision”. And the parents are adamantly determined to continue treatment for their child.
Even if little Marwa will most likely remain severely handicapped, the parents are delighted with the court’s decision: “it is a big relief for the whole family”. The parents initiated the complaint with the Marseilles Administrative Court on November 9, 2016 when the medical team decided to stop treatment.
They also launched a petition (“Never without Marwa”) which already has over 287,360 signatures requesting their daughter be given « a chance to live ».
This marks the second time that the State Council has ruled on this type of case. In June 2014 for the Vincent Lambert case, the judge declared that the decision made on January 11, 2014 to “stop artificial feeding for Mr. Vincent Lambert was not illegal”. The council based its decision on the experts’ conclusions attesting to the patient’s deteriorating state of consciousness, his irreversible cerebral lesions, and his poor clinical prognosis. The patient’s wife testified, with his brother confirming, that Vincent Lambert had previously expressed the wish not to be kept alive artificially if ever he should become severely dependent.
by NexDev | March 7, 2017 | End of life, Laws, surveys, protagonists
As part of the national public information campaign on End-of-Life. the first “citizens’ meeting” is held in Bordeaux this evening. Alliance VITA warns to be vigilant about the way the Claeys-Leonetti law, dated February 2, 2016 is applied.
Alliance VITA especially intends to warn of the ambiguities in the government’s current information campaign regarding deep and continuous sedation until death and expressing advance directives.
Among others, certain callers to VITA’s crisis center SOS End-of-Life have confirmed that individuals are at risk of euthanasia according to how this new law is interpreted.
– the right to « deep and continuous sedation until death » is being presented as an alleged “right to sleep before dying”.
– confusing « restrictive advance directives » may lead to procedures contrary to Medical Ethics being carried out under emotional distress.
Tugdual Derville, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate and founder of the website SOS End-of-Life states:
« This campaign which focuses on end-of-life by promoting the right for terminal sedation and restrictive advance directives worries us increasingly. Especially as it is run by someone who is openly in favor of as “palliative euthanasia”, thus promoting a confusion between euthanasia and palliative care.
Instead of maintaining confusion on palliative care, it is essential to ensure their adequate financing without deforming their purpose. Every person who calls SOS End-of-Life confirms that people who are actually facing end-of-life situations have no need whatsoever for catchy slogans or standardized operating procedures. Rather, they need daily accompaniment and a solidarity network to address their genuine needs.”
Based on our SOS End-of-Life Crisis Center experience, and with the help of our network of healthcare workers, Alliance VITA has decided to publish a brochure on advance directives in order to resolve any ambiguity and any potential abuse in the interpretation of this law.
by NexDev | February 21, 2017 | Bioethics
A committee of experts at the National Academy of Science (NAS) and the National Academy of Medicine has just published a report proposing guidelines for human genome editing, thus opening the door to the very controversial use of germ cells from human embryos and gametes.
Currently, heritable germline editing, for creating babies, is not allowed in the United States, nor in France or in many other countries around the world. China, Sweden, and the UK on the contrary have started experimentations on human embryos in-vitro. For the time being no “genetically modified” child has been born from this technique.
Calling for caution the report recommends that gene editing on human reproductive cells or embryo ‘should only be allowed for treating or preventing severe disease”, under stringent oversight.
The committee evaluated the general applications of these techniques giving specific recommendations for each case:
– The current regulatory framework for basic research on somatic or embryonic cells or on gametes should continue to be implemented, according to the committee.
The experts claim this research is needed for fertility and human reproduction, without affecting future generations. This could lead to the discovery of possible applications for modifications in transmissible genetic elements. The last point demonstrates that the very nature of this research raises serious ethical issues.
- Allowing the use of this technique for patients with degenerative or hereditary genetic diseases, or cancer: as long as the genetic modifications are not transmitted to future generations, the issues are mainly on the safety of this technique.
Nevertheless the committee advised that genetic editing should only be undertaken for therapeutic purposes to treat or prevent disease, and for no other purposes.
In June 2015, the US National Institute of Health (NIH) gave the green light to the University of Pennsylvania for using the CRISIPR-Cas9 technique to treat cancer.
- A technique which had previously been forbidden, the genetic modification of human embryos and gametes transmissible to future generations could now be allowed for serious conditions by the committee for specific clinical trials.
This would only be allowed in the absence of “reasonable alternatives” and be restricted to editing genes that have been “convincingly demonstrated” to “cause” or “strongly predispose” to a disease.
Le committee recommends strictly forbidding any other non-therapeutic application, for example, enhancement of human traits or choosing some characteristics for the child.
According to Alta Charo, Professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-chair of the study committee: “genome editing to enhance traits or abilities beyond ordinary health raises concerns about whether the benefits can outweigh the risks, and about fairness if available only to some people.”
Biotechnology specialist, Marcy Darnovsky, director of the “Center for Genetics and Society” an American watchdog group for embryo editing is concerned: “Although the report calls for caution, the recommendations are a green light for proceeding with efforts to modify the human germline” – even though such changes could be inherited by the next generation.”
While gene editing technology has progressed very rapidly, many scientists, researchers, international bodies, etc., have warned of its’ potential dangerous applications.
Thus in October 2015, the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (IBC) called for a ban on editing human DNA of embryos and human reproductive cells.
The European Ethics and Sciences & Technology Group (GEE) published a report in April 2016 on genome modification, underscoring the importance for policymakers’ and citizens’ participation to closely examine the ethical considerations.
Alliance VITA
has already sounded the warning for risks of genetic manipulation involving human reproductive cells or embryos, particularly via our STOP GM Baby awareness campaign. “This recommendation opens the door to all kinds of abuse. Europe has an important role to play to offset this opinion. Currently the Council of Europe is preparing a report “Genetically Modified Human Beings” demanding for European policymakers to be cautious.”
This report is published just as the patent battle for CRISPR-Cas9 techniques for genetic modification is raging, with highly lucrative financial gains at stake.
![[Press Release] Euthanasia, advance directives and sedation: stop the government’s amalgam](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/campagne-parlons-fin-de-vie.jpg)
by NexDev | February 20, 2017 | End of life, Palliative care, Press Releases
Alliance VITA believes the government’s new public awareness campaign for the end-of-life attests to the widening differences between the new law and problems surrounding this issue in France.
In Alliance Vita’s opinion, the campaign launched on Monday and supervised by the National Center for Palliative Care:
-does not truly address the subject matter since it presents an outrageously simplified answer to a complex issue.
– contributes to the amalgam of deep sedation and euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Tugdual Derville, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate and founder of the crisis center and website “sos end-of-life”: (sosfindevie) states:
« Unfortunately we are not surprised by this amalgam since Véronique Fournier, whose organization managed this campaign, is adept at what she qualifies as “palliative euthanasia”.
Neither the government’s duplicate form for advance directives, nor its promotion of deep and continuous sedation until death are a fitting manner, likely help either patients, their care-takers or their families. Each individual case for the end-of-life is difficult and requires a daily personalized evaluation. We note the official message is heretofore focused on prior advance directives and the recent concept of “deep and continuous sedation until death’. As if these last two points could somehow resolve the end-of-life issue in France. As if someone needs to make French citizens who have not yet signed their advance directives feel guilty. How can one imagine asking healthy individuals to decide now on the issue of terminal sedation? Why let people believe that terminal sedation is a miracle solution in case of a serious problem?
The risk of this practice -which must remain exceptional –since it eliminates any conscience decision – is that it trivializes the situation, by pretending that individuals have the right to “sleep before dying”.
This would exempt society from searching for solutions and providing real efforts needed to accompany those at the end of life: accessibility of palliative care, training for caregivers, pain management, accompanying patients who suffer morally, socially and spiritually, choosing the place to finish one’s life, accessibility of caregivers, encouraging volunteers to accompany terminally-ill people, etc.
We have already observed the prevailing concept looming in some hospitals that it is legal to sedate someone to die. It is family members and caregivers themselves who are tempted to request this.
Confronted with the risk of « hidden euthanasia » the only solution is to provide genuine accompaniment while maintaining their consciousness as long as possible in order to respect their personal freedom and dignity at the end-of-life.”
To help reassure the French public and shed light on a confusing issue, Alliance VITA and its SOS end-of-life service decided to edit a brochure on advance directives which respects medical ethics and denounces both euthanasia and unreasonable therapeutic obstinacy: this is the guiding principle for the charter and the customizable form that it contains.
Since public authorities have decided to impose their ambiguous viewpoint on the end of life, VITA will edit a document so the French may protect themselves and their families from the emerging amalgams.
In the coming weeks, our association will launch an awareness campaign with communication tools for the benefit of all.
