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I mostly applaud the sentiment! 2 minor points:
In a state like France, acquiring a pistol or other very successful means of suicide is more difficult. This woman had apparently failed twice in attempting suicide. While passing out in a state-run hospital doesn't sound sexy, humans survive self-inflicted gunshot wounds and falls from great heights all the time. I may want to commit suicide but not want to risk putting myself in even greater agony.
My grandfather, bedridden at the end of his life, asked my dad to help him pull the plug. My dad refused and basically told him he had to do it himself. It took an act of superhuman will for him to pull out his own breathing tube and get it done. While I respect the hell out of him for doing it, I do find it annoying that at his greatest moment of weakness he had to summon up so much strength to get himself over the line.
Last I checked, black powder pistols are Category D firearms in the Fifth Republic, which are not that difficult to get a hold of and given the intended use case, the logistical concerns of feeding them are not relevant.
That's still niche knowledge, on par with knowing the helium trick or how to blow yourself up cleanly with household items.
Most people here think guns are mysterious objects and none of the people who have them care to dispell the notion, for fear of upsetting the equilibrium.
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Is helium difficult to get in France?
As for the end of life, I think that is what the focus of assisted suicide should be. Terminally ill, old and decrepit, dementia, etc. Hell, I'd be fine with having any person over 75 being able to schedule their suicide one month out, with no sign off from a doctor required, no reason necessary. If I trusted the healthcare system, I'd even say that people who are clearly no longer themselves (far gone dementia patients, for instance) should receive euthanization on a doctor's order, rather than the patient requesting it. If the family doesn't want their grandma euthanized, they can take her home and care for her at their own expense. Unfortunately I don't trust the system to not start euthanizing patients that are 'difficult', rather than ones who need a compassionate end as their brain fails them.
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I do think the latter example is fundamentally different from the request of a young, able-bodied person. Assisting someone in removal of life-extending medical treatments can be respectful in a way that I don't see with assisted suicide of someone who is only suffering mentally. I'm curious what take @KulakRevolt would have that sort of situation - someone requesting removal from a breathing apparatus strikes me as someone accepting fate rather than someone that's too much of a pussy to create their own fate.
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