The French National Assembly —which had been rejected last week— took a step this Wednesday toward the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide by approving the bill that recognizes the so-called “right to assistance in dying.” The initiative, promoted by President Emmanuel Macron since the beginning of his second term, was approved by 291 votes in favor and 241 against, although it will still have to be examined by the Constitutional Council before it enters into force.
The vote puts an end to several years of intense political, medical, ethical, and social debate in France. Since Emmanuel Macron opened the process with the creation of a citizens’ convention in 2022, the bill has gone through a long parliamentary journey, even interrupted by the early dissolution of the National Assembly in 2024, which forced its processing to restart. Throughout this process, the French Catholic Church has maintained firm opposition to the legalization of euthanasia, arguing that the response to suffering lies in strengthening palliative care and accompanying the patient, never in deliberately causing death.
If the text passes the Constitutional Council’s review, France will join the group of countries that have legalized euthanasia, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, and Uruguay.
The law recognizes the “right to assistance in dying”
The regulation authorizes for the first time in France both euthanasia and assisted suicide under certain conditions.
The text defines the “right to assistance in dying” as the ability of an authorized person to use a lethal substance and receive help to do so. In the case of assisted suicide, a healthcare professional provides the necessary means to cause death, but it is the patient who carries out the final act. When the patient cannot do so themselves, a doctor or healthcare professional will directly administer the lethal substance.
The requirements set out in the regulation
The bill establishes that those who may request assistance in dying are adults with French nationality or stable residence in the country who suffer from a serious and incurable illness that compromises their life prognosis and is in an advanced or terminal phase, characterized by irreversible deterioration of their health.
In addition, the applicant must express their will freely and in an informed manner and suffer pain associated with the illness that is refractory to treatment or considered unbearable.
The text specifies that exclusively psychological suffering will not be sufficient to access euthanasia or assisted suicide, but must be linked to the illness the patient suffers from.
French bishops denounce a “serious setback”
The French Episcopal Conference has closely followed the entire parliamentary process and, on repeated occasions, has asked deputies to reject the initiative.
In various statements published in recent months, the bishops warned that legalizing euthanasia means radically transforming the mission of medicine and breaking the fundamental principle of protecting all human life, especially that of the sick, the elderly, and the most vulnerable.
The prelates argued that a truly supportive society must respond to suffering by developing palliative care, improving healthcare and social accompaniment, and preventing induced death from being presented as a solution.
With that goal, they promoted days of prayer, public appeals to parliamentarians, and various awareness-raising initiatives during the legislative debate.
A political promise from Emmanuel Macron
The reform constitutes one of the main commitments of Emmanuel Macron’s second term.
The process officially began in 2022 with the creation of a citizens’ convention tasked with studying a modification of end-of-life legislation. In February 2023, that body expressed support for introducing a form of “active assistance in dying,” which served as the basis for drafting the bill.
During the parliamentary debate, the Minister Delegate for Autonomy and People with Disabilities, Camille Galliard-Minier, maintained that the regulation represents “the clear commitment made to the French people by the President of the Republic to chart a French path regarding the end of life” and assured that the project is the result of “years of listening and dialogue” in the medical, philosophical, ethical, and civic spheres.
The Government will refer the matter to the Constitutional Council
Although the National Assembly has approved the bill, the legislative procedure has not yet concluded.
The government of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has announced that it will send the text to the Constitutional Council to determine whether the future law respects the French Constitution.
The high court may fully validate the regulation, require modifications, or declare some of its articles unconstitutional.
The opposition warns of the risk to the most vulnerable
During the parliamentary debate, voices opposing the initiative were also heard.
Deputy Christophe Bentz, of National Rally, urged parliamentarians to act with caution, as this is “an irreversible decision.”
“We are all going to die. That obliges us to act with extreme caution when voting on something irreversible,” he stated.
Bentz defended that “life always retains its dignity until the end” and asked the Chamber: “Why hasten death and thus take life prematurely?”
The deputy concluded by warning that “France cannot abandon its children” and cautioned that people with disabilities, the sick, and those without access to certain care could become the main victims of the new legislation.