PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2019) French President Emmanuel Macron said he was touched by the tragedy of a patient who had been unresponsive for a decade but would not intervene in the decision to halt his life support.
"It is not up to me to suspend a decision that is based on his doctors' assessment and that complies with our laws," he said in a statement on Facebook.
Vincent Lambert has been in a vegetative state since a motorbike accident in 2008. Euthanasia is illegal in France but doctors can withdraw essential care.
The case has split his family and the French society. His wife and siblings have been calling for him to be taken off life support, while his devout Catholic parents insisted he should be kept alive.
The European Court of Human Rights in 2015 upheld a decision by a French court to switch off his nutrition and hydration systems. Doctors began implementing the ruling on Monday.
