- Crunch time looms for BHP's bid buy Anglo American
- Kane to face old club Spurs for first time in Seoul
- Markets rise as traders cheered by China property plan
- Black farmers in Brazil changing views on coffee production
- Iran's President Raisi declared dead in helicopter crash
- Australia police arrest 554 in domestic violence crackdown
- South Korea, Britain host AI summit with safety top of agenda
- New president Lai vows to defend Taiwan's democracy
- Forever fad: Rubik says his cube 'reminds us why we have hands'
- Trump eyes witness stand as trial draws to a close
- Ryanair annual profit jumps on higher demand, fares
- High-priced Cummins, Starc face off as IPL enters playoffs
- Iran media says President Raisi died in helicopter crash
- Dominican Republic President Abinader re-elected to 2nd term
- New Taiwan president Lai hails 'glorious' democracy
- New Caledonia separatists defy French efforts to unblock roads
- Timberwolves knock out defending champion Nuggets, Pacers oust Knicks
- Trump biopic hits Cannes Film Festival
- Iran President Raisi's helicopter found, 'no sign of life'
- Three talking points ahead of 2024 French Open
- 'Haikyu!!': Comic heroes fuel Japan Olympic volleyball manga mania
- Timberwolves rally to knock defending champion Nuggets out of NBA playoffs
- London court set to rule on Julian Assange extradition
- Business and Bollywood votes in India election
- Pope calls anti-migrant attitudes at US border 'madness'
- Mexico aims to be big economic winner from US-China tensions
- Uncertain future for thousands after deadly Brazil floods
- Schauffele makes the putt of his life for first major win
- Wirtz returns to help unbeaten Leverkusen chase history
- Search for Iran's President Raisi after helicopter goes missing
- DeChambeau's powerful putting has him excited for US Open
- Taiwan to swear in new president as China pressure grows
- Atalanta can end 61-year wait for trophy in Europa League final
- Schauffele birdies final hole to capture PGA for first major win
- Guardiola casts doubt over long-term Man City future
- Hollywood icons Costner and Demi Moore make Cannes comeback
- Pacers shoot down Knicks to reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- Schauffele birdies final hole, captures first major at PGA Championship
- McLaughlin powers to Indy 500 pole in all-Penske front row
- Monaco footballer tapes over LGBTQ badge
- Korda wins sixth LPGA title of year with win at Liberty National
- Pacers put on shooting show to down Knicks, reach NBA Eastern Conference finals
- US envoy touts 'potential' of Israel-Saudi deal in Netanyahu talks
- Dominicans vote for president in poll overshadowed by Haiti crisis
- Brest secure Champions League qualification, PSG win without Mbappe
- Mbappe absent as PSG win final Ligue 1 game
- Still exhausted after arrest, Scheffler closes with 64 at PGA
- Brest secure historic Champions League qualification
- France's Macron calls fresh emergency on New Caledonia unrest
- Taiwan swears in new president as China pressure grows
France's Macron announces bill for assisted dying
French President Emmanuel Macron will present a bill on assisted dying to go before parliament in May, he said in an interview published by French media on Sunday.
The move could make France the next European country to legalise euthanasia for the terminally ill, following a long consultation with a committee of French citizens on "active assistance to dying".
Only adults with full control of their judgement, suffering an incurable and life-threatening illness in the short to medium term and whose pain cannot be relieved will be able to "ask to be helped to die", Macron told the La Croix and Liberation newspapers.
The change is necessary "because there are situations you cannot humanely accept", Macron said. The goal was "to reconcile an individual's autonomy with the nation's solidarity.
"With this bill, we are facing up to death," he said.
But the highly controversial move is likely to provoke stiff opposition, and even though the bill would be presented before the European Parliament elections in June, its passage is unlikely before 2025.
While opinion polls suggest a majority of French favour right-to-die legislation, religious leaders in the traditionally Catholic country as well as many health workers oppose it.
Macron acknowledged the debate by announcing the bill simultaneously to La Croix, a Catholic daily, and the left-leaning Liberation, which has championed the euthanasia cause.
The move comes days after Macron spearheaded an effort that saw the right to abortion enshrined in France's Constitution earlier this month, the first country in the world to do so.
- 'Precise criteria' -
The president said minors and patients suffering psychiatric or neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s would not be eligible.
If medical professionals gave their consent, a lethal substance would be prescribed for the patient, who could administer it themselves or with the help of a third party if they could not physically do so.
The third party can be a volunteer, the doctor or the nurse treating the patient, according to the text, while the substance can be administered at the patient's home, in care homes for the elderly or care centres.
Medical experts would have 15 days to respond to a request for help to die and an approval would be valid for three months, during which time the patient could retract, Macron said.
Macron said that if medical professionals rejected the request, the patient could consult another medical team or appeal.
He added that he wanted to avoid the terms assisted suicide or euthanasia because the patient's consent is essential, with a role for medical opinion and "precise criteria".
Until now French patients in pain wishing to end their lives have had to travel abroad, including to neighbouring Belgium.
A 2005 law has legalised passive euthanasia, such as withholding artificial life support, as a "right to die".
A 2016 law allows doctors to couple this with "deep and continuous sedation" for terminally ill patients in pain.
But active euthanasia, whereby doctors administer lethal doses of drugs to patients suffering from an incurable condition, is illegal.
Assisted suicide -- whereby patients can receive help to voluntarily take their own life -- is also banned.
R.Adler--BTB