You could have been proactive by contacting them several days ahead of time so they could be prepared to deal with your particular situation.

You could have also told them, once passing the document checker but before the screening machine, that you have some sort of medical situation so they could try to accommodate your particular situation.

Once the process has begun the passenger may not end or "quit" the process until it has been completed.

The ramifications are that you would have been required to complete the process and would not be allowed to pass through the checkpoint into the sterile (boarding) area. This might take so long as to make you miss your flight. In addition, refusing to complete the process will most likely result in some less-than-pleasurable interaction with the local gendarmerie (which will definitely include "collecting your info") as well as having you marked to undergo Secondary Security Screening on future trips.