UPDATE: Vincent Lambert Dead at 42
7/11/19
Vincent Lambert died Thursday morning at the age of 42, nine days after doctors at Sebastopol Hospital in Reims, France removed his feeding tubes and water supply.
Keep repeating it until people understand: Vincent Lambert was not “taken off life support.” He was starved and dehydrated for a week by the state until he died.
If this were suggested as a form of capital punishment, it would be rejected by the courts as cruel and unusual. https://t.co/bSgECT179M
— Matt Swaim (@mattswaim) July 11, 2019
Lawyers representing the victim’s parents, Pierre and Vivianne, released the following statement after his passing:
“Vincent has died, killed for reasons of the State and by a doctor who has forsaken his Hippocratic oath. This cathedral of humanity that had been burning for a week under our powerless eyes has collapsed. No account has been taken of the dignity of this handicapped man, [who] was condemned because he was handicapped.
“For the first dignity of all is to respect a person’s life. Part of our common humanity has left us today, because this heinous wrongdoing that is shaking the foundation of our laws and civilization affects us all.”
The attorneys have called for a time of “mourning and silent prayer.”
Pope Francis also spoke out publicly on Vincent’s behalf.
“May God the Father welcome Vincent Lambert in His arms,” the Pope tweeted. “Let us not build a civilization that discards persons those whose lives we no longer consider to be worthy of living: every life is valuable, always.”
May God the Father welcome Vincent Lambert in His arms. Let us not build a civilization that discards persons those whose lives we no longer consider to be worthy of living: every life is valuable, always.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) July 11, 2019
Over 1,500 people have gathered in silence at a local church to mourn the death of a disabled man stripped of his basic rights, and thousands more have publicly cried out over the injustice.
More than 1,500 people gathered in silence at this church to mourn the death of Vincent Lambert – murdered by the French authorities by starvation. May God bless him and keep him. https://t.co/equRkh51iE
— Emerald Robinson ✝️ (@EmeraldRobinson) July 11, 2019
“After nine days of dehydration and starvation by France, 42-year-old Vincent Lambert has died. May he Rest In Peace,” wrote pro-life advocate Lila Rose. “And may all of us who are living—who have the health and freedom to speak—work tirelessly so that this crime against humanity is never committed again.”
**Read more background on Vincent’s tragic story below.
“Immoral & Barbaric”: Parents Watch in Agony as Disabled Son Is Euthanized Through Starvation
7/10/19
Since 2008, 42-year-old Vincent Lambert has been in a semi-vegetative state after suffering severe brain trauma in an automotive accident.
While the former psychiatric nurse is capable of breathing, swallowing, responding to cues, and sleeping and waking on his own, he does require medical assistance for proper nutrients and hydration. Nonetheless, France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, has recently overturned an appeal to sustain the man’s life.
Back in May, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ordered a reversal of the decision to withdraw Lambert’s feeding tubes, but now that the Cour de Cassation has ruled, it seems Lambert has lost the fight.
He will essentially be murdered via starvation.
Last Tuesday, doctors began removing life-sustaining machines that fed and hydrated him as his parents, Pierre and Viviane, watched in horror.
“It’s murder in disguise, it’s euthanasia,” said 90-year-old Pierre, who intends to press murder charges for the unjust ending of his son’s life.
France’s highest court has given a final ruling that doctors can stop feeding Vincent Lambert, who has been in a vegetative state since an accident 11 years ago. Lawyers for his parents threatened to press murder charges if his life support is halted.https://t.co/yBvnflCqPl
— Shoaib M Khan (@ShoaibMKhan) June 30, 2019
Prior to the fatal ruling, his wife Viviane went to the United Nations Committee of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to argue that her son is being discriminated against because the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities “prohibits depriving a person of food and drink.”
“I beg you, help us,” Viviane pleaded with the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. “Without your intervention, my son, Vincent Lambert, will be euthanized because of his mental handicap.”
“In May, when learning about his planned death, he cried,” said the heartbroken mother.
While she has the support of her husband and two of Vincent’s siblings, his remaining six siblings and wife Rachel are proponents of ending his life-sustaining care.
“Vincent is not a vegetable,” Viviane pleaded with the committee. “I beg you to intervene with France and remind it of its obligation to not let my son die.”
Rachel vehemently opposes her mother-in-law’s opinion, claiming that Vincent would “never have wanted to be kept in this state.”
In spite of the long, hard-fought battle, the French courts have decided to stick by their controversial right-to-die laws which allow for ‘passive euthanasia’ if there’s no hope for the patient’s recovery.
Pro-life proponent Lila Rose called the case “horrific,” adding that “food [and] water are basic necessities; starving or dehydrating a patient to death is immoral & barbaric.”
And Vincent isn’t the only one whose life is in jeopardy. There are 1,700 other people in France who are in a similar condition, and thus could be the next victims of the country’s barbaric right-to-die laws.
“We should not kill people because they are disabled,” remarked journalist Caroline Farrow. “Vincent Lambert is not sick, dying or at the end of his life, but is being starved and dehydrated to death because he is severely disabled.”
In a grief-stricken Facebook post, Pierre and Viviane told friends and family “it’s over.”
“Dear friends who have supported us so much throughout these 6 years, this time, it’s over,” they wrote. “Vincent’s death is now inevitable.”
After thanking everyone for their continued love and support, they humbly admitted all there is left to do is pray.
“There is nothing more to do if not pray and accompany our dear Vincent, in dignity and contemplation,” said the couple.
While a CitezenGo petition with over 130,000 signatures has made its way to French President Emmanuel Macron, begging for his intervention, Macron has refused to respond to the public outcry.
Please join us in praying for the peace and comfort of Vincent and his family during this unthinkable time.
