French cancer victim lost right-to-die bid

PARIS, March 18 (UPI) -- A French mother of three who suffers from a rare form of cancer that left her unable to taste, smell or see lost her legal bid for doctor-assisted suicide.

Chantal Sebire, 52, suffers from esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer infecting the nasal cavity. The disease left her unable to smell, see or taste. She is unable to take morphine for pain and suffers from facial hemorrhages.

Having urged French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Sebire asked for the right to "die with dignity" before enduring further pain or lapsing into a coma, the Daily Telegraph (Britain) reported Tuesday.

"One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured," she said.

The court, while expressing compassion, ruled against her request to allow a doctor to supervise the administration of a lethal dose of barbiturates.

The case rekindles right-to-die debates in Europe. Some 2,000 French healthcare officials admitted to assisting in suicides last year, calling for a change in the law.

Her lawyers suggested she may travel to another country that permits the practice.