Last week, Marie Humbert was briefly placed in custody after she injected an overdose of sedatives in her son's intravenous line.
But instead of dying, Vincent Humbert, a former volunteer fireman who was left paralyzed, blind and speechless after a car accident three years ago, fell into a coma.
Dr. Frederic Chaussoy, head of the reanimation department of the hospital in the northern town of Berck-sur-Mer where the young man had lived for three years, said the decision to disconnect his respirator two days after the mother's attempt was made collectively by the unit's staff.
Humbert's funeral was held on Wednesday.
Chaussoy told the AFP press agency that he was coming forward to take responsibility to put a stop "to the traditional hypocrisy" surrounding euthanasia.
"We could have said there was a complication, cardiac arrest. We know how to lie and we do it regularly," Chaussoy said. "But here, it was better to say the truth."
Last year, the French media picked up the story of Vincent Humbert when he wrote a letter to President Jacques Chirac, asking him to lift the criminal punishment for euthanasia in his case. Chirac began a correspondence with the family but said he could not grant the wish.
Earlier last week, Mrs. Humbert intensified the campaign for her son's right to die by giving interviews in which she announced that his death had been programmed and she would be the one to help him die.\b
She said that she wanted to grant his wish out of love, even though she always found herself bargaining for more time. Mrs. Humbert said she was not afraid of going to jail and had chosen to remain in France despite the proximity of neighboring countries, such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, that allow some form of mercy killing.
Euthanasia debate
The release of I Ask For the Right To Die, a book written by Vincent Humbert, was published last Thursday, to coincide with his death. He dictated the book by pressing his thumb against a journalist's hand.
"I will never see this book because I died on September 24, 2000," Humbert wrote. "Since that day, I am not alive, I am made to live, I am kept alive: for whom, for what, I do not know. ... I would so like to find a way to die, to leave before going crazy, becoming mean and bitter."
Since France learned about Mrs. Humbert's action, newspaper headlines, TV shows and radio call-in programs have been filled with the debate on euthanasia, which is banned in France. Even government officials have been commenting on the case.
Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei said that he had talked to other members of the government about the debate on euthanasia and was working toward guidelines that would ease legislation.
Both Mrs. Humbert and Dr. Chaussoy are now liable for punishment under French law and could face prison sentences, although neither has yet been charged.
However, Justice Minister Dominique Perben said in a statement Friday that justice should be applied with "the greatest humanity" and said he respected the "terrible pain" of the mother.
A representative of President Chirac, as well as the hospital staff that cared for Vincent Humbert, is attending today's funeral.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said on Saturday that he was opposed to changing the laws on euthanasia.
"Life does not belong to politicians," the prime minister said in a newspaper interview.
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