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| French doctors begin halting life support for man in vegetative state | French doctors begin halting life support for man in vegetative state |
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| French doctors have begun switching off the life support of a quadriplegic man who has been in a vegetative state for the last decade, in a hugely controversial case that has divided France, the lawyer for his parents has said. | French doctors have begun switching off the life support of a quadriplegic man who has been in a vegetative state for the last decade, in a hugely controversial case that has divided France, the lawyer for his parents has said. |
| The dispute over the fate of Vincent Lambert, 42, who had a motorbike accident in 2008, has split his own family and even become a subject of political tension in France ahead of the weekend’s European elections. | The dispute over the fate of Vincent Lambert, 42, who had a motorbike accident in 2008, has split his own family and even become a subject of political tension in France ahead of the weekend’s European elections. |
| His parents, who vehemently oppose ending his life, have repeatedly challenged court decisions that life support systems should be switched off. But doctors had said they would be halted on Monday following a final judicial ruling. | His parents, who vehemently oppose ending his life, have repeatedly challenged court decisions that life support systems should be switched off. But doctors had said they would be halted on Monday following a final judicial ruling. |
| Jean Paillot, the lawyer for Lambert’s parents, said doctors at the hospital in Reims had begun switching off the systems on Monday morning. “It is shameful. They [the parents] could not even embrace their son,” he said. | Jean Paillot, the lawyer for Lambert’s parents, said doctors at the hospital in Reims had begun switching off the systems on Monday morning. “It is shameful. They [the parents] could not even embrace their son,” he said. |
| Other family sources also confirmed the systems were being switched off. The parents’ legal team had on Sunday vowed to launch a number of legal challenges in a last-ditch attempt to stop the systems being switched off. | |
| Vincent Sanchez, the doctor treating Lambert who has been the target of the parents’ anger, said in a message to the family that the “halting of treatments” and “profound and continued sedation” had been initiated. | Vincent Sanchez, the doctor treating Lambert who has been the target of the parents’ anger, said in a message to the family that the “halting of treatments” and “profound and continued sedation” had been initiated. |
| In the message seen by AFP, he urged everyone to “rally around him [Vincent Lambert] so these moments are as peaceful, intimate and personal as possible”. | In the message seen by AFP, he urged everyone to “rally around him [Vincent Lambert] so these moments are as peaceful, intimate and personal as possible”. |
| Lambert’s wife, Rachel, five of his siblings and his nephew François have all backed the decision to begin switching off the systems. | |
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