ABSTRACT
The Commission de réflexion sur l'application du principe de laïcité dans la République, commonly called the Stasi Commission, was instituted in July 2003 by then President Jacques Chirac in order to investigate the application of the principle of laïcité. In December 2003, the Stasi Commission published an extensive report, dealing with many issues pertaining to laïcité and the contemporary challenges of religious practices in French society. The issue of laïcité in hospitals appears in recommendation 23, which aims at 'supplementing the Hospital Act to remind users of their obligations, including the prohibition of challenging the nursing staff, or the observance of hygiene and public health rules'. The prohibition of challenging nursing staff actually refers to cases in which women refuse to be examined by male practitioners, supposedly on religious grounds. This issue was even mentioned by President Chirac in his speech following report in December 2003. Both this discourse and the Stasi Report supported the idea of passing a bill.
