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EUROPE’S HUMAN RIGHTS court will decide on Friday if a man in a vegetative state can be taken off life support in a case that ignited a fierce euthanasia debate in France.
Vincent Lambert, who is in his late 30s, was left severely brain damaged and quadriplegic as a result of a 2008 road accident and has for months been at the centre of a judicial tug-of-war over his right to die.
Legal drama
His wife Rachel, who like him is a psychiatric nurse, has said he would never have wanted to be kept alive artificially, and that she wanted to “let him go”.
The legal drama began in January 2014, when Lambert’s doctors, backed by his wife and six of his eight siblings, decided to stop the intravenous food and water keeping him alive in line with a 2005 passive euthanasia law in France.
However, his deeply devout Catholic parents, half-brother and sister won an urgent court application to stop the plan.
In an appeal, the French supreme administrative court, known as the State Council, ordered three doctors to draw up a report on Lambert’s condition and in June ruled that the decision to withdraw care from a man with no hope of recovery was lawful.
Lambert’s parents then took the case to the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which ordered France to keep Lambert alive while they decided whether the State Council’s decision was in line with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Laurent Pettiti, a lawyer for Lambert’s wife, said that if the rights court quashes the State Council ruling, it would be impossible to stop intravenous nourishment and their legal options run out.
Rachel Lambert told AFP in an earlier interview that her husband would “never have wanted to be kept in this state.”
Keeping him alive artificially, it is unbearable compared to the man he was.
’Stop this madness’
But to his parents, stopping treatment would be tantamount to euthanasia. They believe he simply requires better care and want him moved to another clinic.
“I hope the ECHR will be able to stop this madness. Vincent is not at the end of his life, he is handicapped,” his mother Viviane Lambert told AFP in January.
“They are trying to make us say we don’t want him to go, but it is not at all the case, we don’t want him to be snuffed out,” said the staunch Catholic who insists her faith has nothing to do with her efforts to keep her son alive.
Bernard Jeanblanc, the head doctor at the Strasbourg clinic where Lambert’s parents want him moved, said the patient was “not in a vegetative state” but had a degree of consciousness which enabled him to interact with his environment.
Euthanasia is illegal in France but Francois Hollande pledged in his 2012 presidential campaign to look into the issue.
In March lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a law allowing medics to place terminally-ill patients into a deep sleep until they die.
The law also makes “living wills” — drafted by people who do not want to be kept alive artificially if they are too ill to decide — legally binding on doctors.
However Health Minister Marisol Touraine has been steadfast in her refusal to legalise euthanasia and an amendment to the law allowing “medical assistance to die” was rejected.
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The longer it takes the more interest AIB will have to pay won’t they?
The bailout is bigger than 21 Billion, the low interest rates and DIRT @ 41% are not taken into account.
True Martin but the more interest they have to pay , the longer it will take for them to get back to profitability.
Future tax on profits written off against taxpayer covered debts.
Profits earned for a large part by charging crazy customers fees to those that bailed them out.
Investment ?!! More like theft !!
Woohoo we’ll all be rich again. I’ve an option on some apartments in Bulgaria if anyone’s interested?
Bulgaria is old news Kim, Cape Verde is where its at, the new Canaries!… Ryan Air will be flying there soon. Yer man from Cork that knows about the money is selling them!
Brendan oil own fake is it ?
I like your style Ronan, just for that I’ll throw in a hot tub.
Brendan Investments …come on now people keep up ….
The Irish taxpayer paid out €21 Billion to bail out the Bank, then the senior bailed the pension fund with over €1.5 Billion, they retired on huge Pensions. Then they closed the pension to new members. The tax payer is paying 1000 staff salaries of over €100,000. Tax payers are taken to the cleaners by the AIB. You would want to be a gxxxxxxe to Bank with them.
In 1984, AIB was bailed out, at a cost of £400 million to the Irish taxpayer, when its subsidiary (ICI) collapsed. The following year AIB paid out a dividend to its shareholders, while still in-hoc to the taxpayer.
Less than 25 years later AIB was back, cap in hand, for another draw down.
As from the last budget, it would appear, the government will, now, be incentivising even greater incompetence and negligence through its revised taxation policy.
I despise that bloody bank, really actively despise it, I have more respect for a junkie thief than I have for anyone working for it.
Saw that in the paper today, Martin. I nearly choked on me sandwich. 1000 AIB staff on over €100,000. Nothing has changed, these people live in a different world, on our money and nobody seems to care.
All the sheeple red arrowing me- the type that doff their cap to their “betters”
A bankrupt state in tatters because of AIB- generations enslaved to paying for this God awful mess and these sad sacks red arrow someone pointing out how despicable this bank is- third time being bailed out by the tax payers and it’s these clowns attitude will see them bankrupt us again.
Anybody that owes the AIB money shouldn’t pay it until they give all that money back to the taxpayers
jaysus!
yep – this is a brilliant idea and will definitely help the borrower, the lender and the State finances all in one go.
I look forward to the next economic marvel from you Denise.
Well we’ll keep it so until you do – all of it ! not 75% ……” there’s a big bonus for ye lads and a few share options Isn’t the Irish public really stupid”,
ALL OF IT !
A fraction of this €21b would fix our water system and therefore no need for any Irish Water charges
That’s like €4.5k for each citizen. That would give the local economy some boost. Can I expect a cheque in the post?
Too f***ing late AIB the people have already had to suffer from your mess
Well they could start by returning the €18 they stole from my account, which f***ed up a direct debit payment.
If we get double digits billions back from the bank we will be doing well. AIB isn’t worth 21 billion.
The big swing is the taking back the provisions for bad loans which were the worse worse case. That’s why they made big losses as they had to put huge money aside and now they don’t need it so they can take some and call it a profit.
But that’s a short term thing as the economy improves and losses reduce. They still haven’t shown they can make money long term.
IF I was a sausage I’d dance at the crossroads with a pink tutu on, while reciting the government ignored out of copyright amhran na bfhiann backwards on a bicycle !
What about some decking Kim, a hot tub and some decking and im in!! I already have one in Kusadasi.
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It’s about time we took our fingers out of our holes and marched on the banks think about what they done to this country and how easy they got away with it . FFs Ireland’s paying 42% of the over all debt of the eu, so how dose the smallest end up paying the most
Bing!
So how much will my bank shares be worth by then…??
As Paul said they will be worth “Bing”
I have got to be the worlds lousiest fairy.
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