This archive report was first published on 2 July 2019.
Published on July 2, 2019, a French court ruling has paved the way for doctors to remove life support from Vincent Lambert, a 42-year-old man who has been in a vegetative state since a 2008 car accident.
Lambert's wife, Rachel, who is his legal guardian under French law, has maintained that he would not have wanted to be kept alive artificially, although this was never put in writing.
Doctors at the hospital in Reims, northern France, have made five previous attempts to remove life support, but were forced to reinstate it following court rulings obtained by Lambert's parents.
France's top appeals court, the Cour de Cassation, ruled last Friday that life support could be turned off, rekindling a charged debate over France's right-to-die laws.
Lawyers for Lambert's parents are now threatening to press 'murder' charges if his life support is halted, while Pope Francis and President Emmanuel Macron have been drawn into the case.
Doctors are set to begin removing life support from Lambert on Tuesday, in what could be the final act in a highly controversial right-to-die case.
