The French Constitutional Council has rejected the referendum petition driven by nearly 200 parliamentarians that would have allowed citizens to decide on the legalization of euthanasia. The bill on so-called “aid in dying” will be put to a final vote in the National Assembly on July 15. If approved, France will join the group of countries that have legalized euthanasia or assisted suicide.
The Constitutional Council closes the door to the referendum
The rejected initiative had been presented by Senator Francis Szpiner through the shared-initiative referendum mechanism and was backed by nearly 200 parliamentarians.
The proposal did not directly ask the French to decide whether or not to legalize euthanasia. Its aim was to prevent any procedure whose purpose was to deliberately cause a person’s death from being classified as “care,” “treatment,” or a “therapeutic” act.
To justify its rejection, the Constitutional Council held that so-called “societal issues” do not fall within the matters that can be submitted to a referendum under Article 11 of the Constitution. It also argued that the proposal did not amend existing legislation, since euthanasia has not yet been legalized in France.
From healing the patient to causing their death
The true scope of the law goes far beyond the dramatic cases usually presented in public debate.
France is preparing to abandon a principle that has guided medicine for centuries: that the physician’s mission is to heal when possible, relieve suffering, and accompany the patient, but never to deliberately cause their death.
The future law would allow, under certain conditions, the administration or supply of lethal substances intended to cause the patient’s death. For its supporters, this expands individual autonomy; for its critics, it represents a profound ethical and anthropological rupture.
Many observers also warn that the experience of other European countries shows a gradual expansion of the cases initially covered by euthanasia laws.
With the referendum ruled out and the parliamentary vote scheduled for July 15, France is moving toward a decision that will define its social understanding of human dignity, suffering, and the value of life.