Retour sur une analyse critique de la richesse et des limites du débat public sur la fin de vie en France depuis 17 ans

French society tends to reduce to the binary choice «pro or against euthanasia» the complexity of questioning the issue of the end of life. Despite legislations and opinions formulated by the French National Ethical Consultative Committee for the Sciences of Life and Health (CCNE), the issue remains the same even if it shifted its focus from the direct questioning of the act to its hidden significance. Instead of addressing the questions of healers’ education, of support, of the extent of palliative care, political positions are rigid and divided on emblematic situations, no matter how exceptional