French doctor accused of euthanasia could face life sentence

A French doctor accused of eight counts of euthanasia has been suspended from practising medicine by the French government last week.

Nicolas Bonnemaison is suspected of administering lethal injections to at least eight terminally ill patients and has been charged with the “poisoning of vulnerable people.” If convicted he could face life imprisonment.

The case of the doctor, who until August had been working in the accident and emergency department of Bayonne Hospital near Pau in the French Pyrenees, has reignited the debate on whether to legalise euthanasia in France. Dr Bonnemaison was told by the French health and employment …