French Woman Suffering From Incurable Disease, Appeals For Right To Die

February 27, 2008 10:52 a.m. EST

Dijon, France (AHN) - An ailing French woman who is suffering from a rare incurable disease which has left her disfigured on Tuesday launched a passionate appeal to the public and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to allow him the right to engage in euthanasia or mercy killing.

Chantal Sebire, the 52-year-old mother of three and former school teacher, was diagnosed in 2002 with esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare malignant tumor in the nasal cavity. This disease has left her to what she described as "atrocious" suffering.

"In 2000, I lost the sense of smell and taste ... and I lost my sight in October 2007," she said in her appeal aired on France 2 television.

She continues her message to Sarkozy, "One would not allow an animal to go through what I have endured."

The woman wants the French government to allow her to "depart peacefully" and added that only two neurosurgeons had agreed to attend to her rare condition which was irreversible.

She said her condition afflicts only 200 people across the world in two decades.

Sabire is appealing to Sarkozy the right to euthanasia which was illegal under French laws.