At the dawn of a major legislative project on the end of life, initiated at the request of the President of the Republic who announced on Sunday the upcoming examination of a law authorizing in certain cases assisted suicide or even euthanasia, a message posted on the Twitter account of a pro-euthanasia association sparked the start of a controversy on social networks.
We see the image of a car accident, evoking the tragic circumstances of the death of Diana Spencer in Paris, on August 31, 1997 under the Pont de l'Alma.
Under the name
“Diana”
written in large letters, this slogan evoking the future law on the end of life:
“She did not choose her death... In 2024, we should have the choice.”
A visual posted on the Twitter account of the ADMD youth movement was removed following a controversy.
Twitter Screenshot - @jeunesadmd
The visual posted on the social network (renamed X) is accompanied by an additional message in the tweet:
“In 2024, we should have the choice of a free and chosen end of life without too restrictive criteria!”
However, this does not make the intention of the post any more explicit: should we understand that legislating on euthanasia would have spared Lady Di a tragic end?
From all this, the youth movement of the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity (ADMD), the main pro-euthanasia association in France, has not explained itself: faced with the indignant reactions of certain Internet users, the Twitter account @jeunesadmd has only withdrawn his tweet, and the co-manager of Jeunes ADMD, Franck Duquenoy, has not yet responded to requests from Le
Figaro.
More morbid visuals were planned
The visual posted by the youth section of the ADMD has indeed offended many Internet users.
“Not everything is permitted in a debate which requires empathy, respect and... dignity”
, reacted lawyer Erwan Le Morhedec, who for his part is campaigning against the bill on assisted dying announced by Emmanuel Macron.
This choice of communication seems to have turned against the association.
“We recognize the justice of a cause by the elegance of its promoters
,” adds another lawyer close to LR, Henri de Beauregard.
Also read: Why does Emmanuel Macron speak of “assisted dying” rather than “euthanasia” and “assisted suicide”?
By discreetly removing its visual just after its publication, the ADMD youth movement seems to have decided to limit the damage.
Indeed, its morbid staging of Lady Di's car accident was not the only visual planned for its new communication campaign.
In a press release sent Thursday March 14 to journalists (and still accessible online), three other visuals were also presented: one showing the execution of Joan of Arc at the stake in Rouen, another showing the death of Claude François electrocuted in his bathtub, and a last one showing the fatal helicopter accident which cost the life of Daniel Balavoine.
Several other visuals were planned for the Jeunes ADMD press campaign.
Internet screenshot - Press release from Jeunes ADMD