The man at the centre of France’s right-to-die case dies
The life of Vincent Lambert (42), the severely brain-damaged French patient who became the centre of France’s right-to-die case, came to an end on Thursday.
His death occurred after the doctors removed his life supporting aids, says his family. Lambert had came up with a road accident in 2008 and had been suffering from severe brain damage after that accident. At the time of accident, he was just of age 32 and had recently become a father.
He was the subject of a long term legal war between his parents, who wanted to keep him alive, and his wife Rachel, who believes he should have the right to die with dignity.
“He is minimally conscious but he is not a vegetable”, said his mother. “Keeping him artificially alive and totally dependent? For him, that would be unacceptable”, said his wife.
The painless killing or so called Euthanasia is not legal in France. But the law allows the doctors to put the severely and terminally ill patients into deep sedation.
The issue of Lambert, apart from his own family, has been taken up by the whole country, with different opinions and street demonstrations.
His death was reportedly marked at 08:24 (06:24 GMT) on Thursday, nine days after his life aids were removed.
Image courtesy: nytimes .com / images are subject to copyright