In France, the law on bioethics will be revised
Nina Karel, RFI
Should euthanasia be legalized? Who has the right to artificial insemination? Can medicine have the right to use human genome decoding and stem cells? The answers to these and other questions of bioethics determine the future of each country. In France, the principles of bioethics are set out in a 2011 law. Its new version will be adopted in September 2019.
Preparation for work on the new legislation was a six-month nationwide debate on the main topics of the reform. They have been running since January 18 of this year. On June 5, the National Ethics Advisory Committee published the first summary report on their results.
Public debates were held from January to mid-April on the Internet, as well as in the framework of conferences and meetings with specialists throughout France with the active participation of the population. Almost 30,000 people took part in the exchange of views on a special website and about 20,000 more people participated in 250 debates organized throughout the country under the leadership of the National Ethics Advisory Committee.
The Committee has been in existence since 1983. It includes 40 people, representatives of scientific circles, philosophers and religious figures. The term of office of the committee is 4 years.
Debates and exchanges of opinions were held in France in order to get a general idea of society's attitude to key issues of bioethics. On June 5, the National Ethics Advisory Committee released its first synthesis of the report. To reflect the diversity of citizens' positions, the committee met with representatives of 87 associations, 36 scientific collectives, nine philosophical and religious movements, fifteen institutions and three companies and trade unions.
Two days later, on June 7, this team led by Jean-François Delfraissy, a well-known French immunologist and specialist in the fight against AIDS, presented the results of the semi-annual debate to the Senate. The Chairman of the committee formulated his first conclusions at the microphone of our colleague from the French edition of RFI Anna Piekarek (Anna Piekarec).
Jean-Francois Delfressi:
"The nationwide consultations allowed us to highlight issues that are important for society. These are the use of the human genome, artificial intelligence and more technical issues. Such as, for example, organ donation. And, importantly, the debate allowed us to define the principles that everyone shares: the rejection of the transformation of the human body into an object of trade, the mandatory consideration of the interests of the poor. Respect for these principles will help to find an acceptable approach to solving other issues of bioethics."
Today, five years after the Socialists adopted the law on the right to marriage for same–sex couples, the main controversy in French society is on two issues - on access to artificial insemination techniques for single women (as well as for women living in same-sex unions) and on the right of a person suffering from an incurable disease to medical assistance in case of suicide. Public debate has allowed to expand the range of issues, says Jean-Francois Delfressi.
Jean-Francois Delfressi:
"We have heard a lot of doubts and critical considerations. In particular, with regard to the future of children who are born in same-sex families. There were arguments "for" and "against". And it was about the very concept of family, and in the broadest sense of the word. This was discussed by those who are "in favor" of the right to in vitro fertilization, and those who are "against". Despite the fact that everyone shares these core values, there are those in French society who are ready to move forward and who are open to new things, and those who do not want any evolution in this matter."
Now the members of the National Advisory Committee must submit their second report to the Government within three months. Only we are not talking about a simple synthesis of existing opinions. Experts will have to formulate their recommendations on the content of the new law on bioethics.
The analysis of conflict issues of bioethics is carried out not only by the National Committee. In parallel, the so-called "Citizens' Committee" is working, which includes 22 representatives of different segments of the population. These ordinary Frenchmen met with specialists of specialized professions for a month, on weekends – with doctors, scientists to get acquainted with proposals to change the foundations of bioethics in France. They also presented their report on bioethics. And they will have the right to express their opinion throughout the work on the new legislation. As in society as a whole, the opinions of the members of this committee differed on the issues of artificial insemination (and surrogacy) and on euthanasia. One of the members of this group, Jean-Christophe Buget, a 55-year-old service worker, heard the arguments of supporters of medical support in suicide for terminally ill people. This is how he explained his point of view to Anna Piekarek.
Jean-Christophe Buge:
"With regard to euthanasia at the end of life, we believe that doomed patients should have a human right to a wider choice. This is the last form of freedom – to have the right to choose what the end of your life will be. Let's call a spade a spade. Today, people have to go abroad to die with dignity. It seems to us unbearable and unfair. After all, a person could die peacefully at home. This is a question of humanity. First of all, we need to think about the patient, about the person, and not his diagnosis. This is the first. Secondly, and it seems obvious to us, the law must undergo changes. There are people who suffer, who can no longer be cured. Nothing will ease their suffering. To deny this is to show hypocrisy, both on the part of society as a whole and on the part of doctors who are adapting today as best they can. We believe that the evolution of the law is necessary here."
Euthanasia, surrogacy and the right of same-sex couples to reproductive medical care are massively opposed by activists of the movement "Manif' pour tous", which since 2013 unites defenders of the Catholic doctrine of the family. According to a number of media outlets, they largely monopolized public debate. The members of the "Manif' pour tous" movement themselves consider the widespread participation of their activists in the debate to be evidence of the strength of resistance in society to attempts to rewrite the bioethical law.
In addition to these two conflicting issues, which will be resolved within the framework of special legislation, bioethics specialists will have to make decisions on six more areas of society's development by September next year, the France-Presse agency reminds.
The use of genetic data in medicine opens up prospects for diagnosis, and today new technologies allow correcting genetic material even before the birth of a child. But how can we guarantee that the spread of such a technique will not lead to the creation of genetically modified children with pre-programmed physical or intellectual data?
Working with stem cells can become one of the most important areas of medicine of the future – this amazing material that can restore damaged human tissues and organs opens up so many opportunities for scientists. But there are acute ethical issues here. After all, we are talking about working with the cells of human embryos. In France, this practice is prohibited. Permission is given in exceptional cases when it comes to fighting for the life of a child.
What to do with neuroscience? New technologies allow deeper and more detailed study of the work of the human brain. But to what extent are these studies safe for humans? After all, research is already underway on how to learn to read a person's thoughts? Who knows if new technologies will not lead to the temptation to create mutant humans with artificially inflated intellectual abilities?
The issue of access to information about human health is becoming more acute. The law in France protects the secrecy of medical data, doctors observe medical secrecy. But numerous applications in smartphones already today use information about weight, daily physical activity and places of residence of each of us without restrictions. These parameters allow you to easily assess the potential of human health.
Robotics and artificial intelligence also make you think. Today, robots allow performing the most complex and delicate operations in neurosurgery and urology. But the question of the degree of human control over artificial intelligence remains open.
Ecology remains one of the unresolved problems of ethics. Pesticides, endocrine disruptors ... the question of what kind of world we will leave for future generations remains unanswered – experts interviewed by AFP stated.
On this list of issues, the members of the National Ethics Advisory Committee presented in their report a palette of opinions in its most neutral form. This is not about public opinion, but about large-scale probing, on the basis of which the official position of the committee will be developed. A document with this reasoned position of the National Advisory Committee will be published in the fall of 2018.
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