00:00On this hospital floor, life and death go hand in hand.
00:08It's a place where caregivers listen and provide support
00:13until the very last breath.
00:15But also an area of healthcare where dignity can be restored
00:20through the smallest of gestures like painting one's nails.
00:24I want to be beautiful from head to toe.
00:29When I look at myself in the mirror, I see an image of myself that isn't sick.
00:36So that makes me feel good.
00:39She's been battling cancer for 22 years and has had four recurrences.
00:45This is her second stay at this palliative care facility.
00:50We're pampered.
00:53I didn't know that existed.
00:56I'm going to hand out angels in blue gowns and in purple gowns.
01:03A few days after filming this, Fatia passed away at 69.
01:11Palliative medicine is designed to take care of people.
01:14But above all, its aim is to do everything to ease suffering.
01:18Jacques Le Bras also has incurable cancer.
01:21Faced with unbearable pain, he asked to die.
01:25Continuous sedation until death is the only legal option today.
01:29His medical team proposed a treatment plan instead.
01:33The pain has gone from…
01:40And gone from eight to zero.
01:43I'm not in pain anymore.
01:46Does that mean without pain, you're willing to go further in your illness?
01:51Yes.
01:52Jacques is taking a break, as he puts it.
02:03He's gone back home and returns to the hospital for weekly consultations.
02:12But for the former doctor, an assisted dying law is necessary.
02:24How are you today?
02:25Today, very well.
02:28Jacqueline Palmier arrived at this palliative care unit a few days ago.
02:33No treatment can cure her.
02:35I asked myself, if I were feeling better, if I were in less pain, would I want to continue?
02:41The answer is no.
02:42For me, it's no.
02:44So I asked myself, because it's scary to die after all.
02:48It's called freedom of choice.
02:50To stop.
02:55The proposed law would allow for a patient to administer a lethal substance to themselves
03:01or request a doctor or nurse to do so.
03:05Jacqueline asks her doctor what she would do.
03:10How would you react to this request if it were possible?
03:15Ah, but you're the one who's sick, you see.
03:20Of course I'll be with you.
03:25For a doctor, helping someone die is not natural.
03:28No.
03:29It's taboo.
03:30Does that mean, for you, helping someone die can be a part of care?
03:34Yes.
03:35It can be part of care, of course.
03:38For this woman, I want nothing more than what she wants, if it's possible and if it's
03:43within the law.
03:44It's also something I might want if I were in the same situation.
03:49This hospital in Paris has 25 beds for end-of-life care.
03:58Once a week, a doctor, nurse, physiotherapist and psychologist assess each patient together.
04:06The pain is easing a little, but it's still there.
04:11For them, the future law must include this type of decision-making amongst a team of palliative care professionals.
04:21Another aspect that must be in place is putting in safeguards.
04:27In Belgium, the right to die has been extended to minors and psychiatric patients.
04:33What aspects defined in the proposed law do you find unsatisfactory?
04:39We can clearly see the problems in Belgium.
04:42Ultimately, the limits are constantly being questioned and pushed back.
04:46So for me, that's the aspect that scares me.
04:49In this department, a dozen or so sick patients request to die each year.
04:54What will the future look like with this new law?
04:57And what are the potential consequences?
05:00How will I react as a human?
05:03I don't know.
05:04I don't know anything.
05:06We have to live with it.
05:08We're caregivers.
05:09We're human beings.
05:10We're talking about humanity here.
05:13I don't want this to be a debate between palliative care and medical support for dying.
05:18It's not either-or.
05:20It's not an either-or choice.
05:22Both can exist.
05:23These caregivers hope for a peaceful debate on the right to assisted death.
05:31They say they trust legislators to pass a heavily regulated law that would be a benefit to all.
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