On the 6th of December, we held our first-ever Transnational European Assembly on end-of-life decisions at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. The session on how informed Individual choices should be treated as a fundamental right all over the European Union as recommended by the citizens' panels of the Conference on the Future of Europe (recommendation n. 24)
In particular, the Assembly aimed to gain consensus on a declaration to cover three main areas, which were discussed in smaller groups:
- Decisions on refusals of treatments and access to palliative care
- Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: legislations on voluntary death with medical support
- Living Will and End of Life Decisions within and among different EU Member
The citizens partaking in the assembly devised 14 concrete proposals for end-of-life decisions. You can find the final declaration below.
DECLARATION ON END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS (First Version)
Recommendation about “Decisions on refusals of treatments and access to palliative care”
- We recommend that in the EU, palliative sedation is accessible to all terminally and/or irreversibly ill patients, provided they can make an informed decision about their choice to refuse treatment, and that this practice is standardized.
- We recommend EU Institutions to promote awareness of the right to palliative sedation and refusal of treatment (after diagnosis of terminal and/or irreversible illness) within the European convention of human rights (through, for example, the inclusion of health topics of self-determination at end-of-life in secondary education and art).
Recommendation about “Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: legislations on voluntary death with medical support”
- We recommend using the language of the World Federation of Right to Die societies: Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD), instead of Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia, by either self administered or doctor administered drug.
- We recommend the EU to recognize that every human being has the fundamental right to choose how and when to end their own life. Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) is NOT a medical, not political, not financial and not family decision but an individual and personal decision.
- In cases of VAD it is the person's own definition of unbearable suffering that is taken into account. This includes terminal illness, irreversible illness, chronic illness, mental illness, or even just life completion (for example in Switzerland after 75 years of age).
- We recommend advanced healthcare directives both for when the individual is still capable of refusing treatment and for the right to voluntary assisted dying after losing capability (for example with illnesses such as Dementia, ALS, brain injury, etc.)
- We recommend that health professionals are better educated in facilitating the decisions and implementation of said decisions. Health professionals must also be supported both in terms of end of life choices for their patients and cultural, religious, and ethical aspects related to dying.
Recommendation about “Living Will and End of Life Decisions within and among different EU Member States”
- We recommend EU Institutions to develop a European Directive, or otherwise encourage the introduction of legislation in member states, on Advanced Healthcare Directives based on the Declaration of Human Rights.
- We recommend EU Institutions to mutually recognize living wills across borders.
- We recommend EU Institutions to use the EU Health Standards to document and communicate this will.
- We recommend EU Institutions to create a European database that stores advanced healthcare directives, to ease the access of medical information and limit the burden of medical personnel.
- We recommend EU Institutions to facilitate awareness through the development of info session infrastructure and validate end-of life decisions.
NEXT STEPS
The Declaration will be used as a key document in the initiatives carried on by EUMANS at the European level, potentially becoming the basis for a European Citizens Initiative and other paneuropean actions aiming at reforming the Charter of Fundamental Rights as well as the program of the political parties at the European Elections in 2024.
The Assembly is part of a series of Transeuropean Assemblies (TEA PROJECT) to be held in Poland, Germany, Romania, Spain and Italy.
THE PROPOSAL FOR A PERMANENT EUROPEAN CITIZENS' ASSEMBLY
Eumans, in collaboration with the coalition Citizens Take Over Europe advocates for the implementation of a permanent European Citizens Assembly, as a a follow-up to what was implemented for the Conference on the Future of Europe. At this link you can read a Blueprint for a Permanent European Citizens Assembly and you can fill out a survey on how this mechanism should function
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THE ORGANISERS
The Transnational Citizens Assembly on End of Life Decisions is organised by EUMANS - paneuropean movement of popular initiative for democracy, freedom and sustainability. The project is co-funded by the European Union.
Partners in the project are: European Alternatives (organisers of the project “Assemblies of Solidarity” in 2021/2022, holding 21 citizens assemblies across the Eu), the coalition Citizens Take Over Europe (which acted as a watch-dog for the Conference on the Future of Europe and is leading a process to design the Blueprint for a European Citizens Assembly), the coalition Politici Per Caso, who is active in Italy for the institutionalisation of citizens assemblies, Science for Democracy and Associazione Luca Coscioni, which are among the European leading expert on the application of the right to science as a fundamental right.
