The French National Assembly approved this Tuesday, by 295 votes in favor, 232 against and 35 abstentions, the bill on the so-called «right to assistance in dying,» an initiative that legalizes euthanasia and assisted suicide under certain conditions. The text will now continue its parliamentary process before the final vote scheduled for July 15.
The approval marks a milestone in French legislation by introducing for the first time the possibility that the State authorizes the deliberate administration of death in response to certain situations of suffering, a decision that represents a profound change in the conception of the role of medicine, traditionally oriented toward curing, relieving, and accompanying the patient, never toward intentionally causing their death.
Hours before the vote, the French Episcopal Conference made a final appeal to the deputies. Its vice-president, Msgr. Vincent Jordy, asked them to vote «in conscience and with responsibility» and warned that the measure represents an «anthropological change» that could permanently alter the protection afforded to the most vulnerable.
«Our society needs help to live»
Following the approval of the text, the Archbishop of Paris, Msgr. Laurent Ulrich, published a message reiterating the Church’s opposition to the future law.
«More than help to die, our society needs help to live,» the prelate stated. In his declaration, he insisted that true freedom consists in ensuring that no person feels pressured to request death because they feel like a burden or due to lack of accompaniment, and he called for all patients to have access to the necessary care without falling into therapeutic obstinacy.
The archbishop recalled that the Church’s position has not changed over the years and defended that every human life retains inviolable dignity, even in illness, disability, dependency, or the final stage of existence.
The alternative of palliative care
Throughout the parliamentary debate, the French bishops have reiterated that the response to suffering should not be to facilitate death, but to guarantee universal access to quality palliative care. In their view, a truly supportive society accompanies the patient, relieves their pain, and supports families, rather than offering death as a solution.
In his message, Msgr. Ulrich assured that the Church will continue to defend this position during the remainder of the parliamentary process and afterward. «Reason and fraternity call for another path,» he stated, before concluding that «we still have time to refrain from taking this path, which is not the path of a fraternal future.»