France approves assisted dying bill after years of end-of-life debate
France's National Assembly has given final approval to a bill allowing some adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication. The move opens a tightly regulated new end-of-life option, but the law still faces constitutional scrutiny and ethical opposition.
France's National Assembly on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would allow some adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, after years of debate over end-of-life care. The lower house passed the measure by 291 votes to 241, completing Parliament's work on legislation announced by President Emmanuel Macron more than three years ago.
The bill would allow medically assisted suicide under strict conditions, while also setting out who would not qualify. Its passage comes as France continues to debate the legal, medical, moral and religious questions around end-of-life care, and as similar debates continue in countries including the United Kingdom and Germany.
Assisted dying is available to around 300 million people worldwide, according to various estimates, with euthanasia legal under certain conditions in some countries and assisted suicide allowed in others and in several US states. France has an ageing population and growing numbers of patients needing care for chronic illnesses. The country already allows doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated before death, but does not currently permit assisted suicide or euthanasia. Many French people have travelled to neighbouring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal.
Under the proposed law, patients would be allowed to receive and self-administer lethal medication. Only those whose physical condition prevents them from doing so would be allowed to receive help from a doctor or nurse. Medically assisted suicide generally involves a patient voluntarily taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor, while euthanasia involves a doctor or another health professional administering a lethal injection at the patient's request.
To qualify, a person would have to be at least 18 years old and either a French citizen or a legal resident of France. A doctor would first have to consult a team of health professionals and then confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening. The patient must be in an advanced or terminal stage, facing pain that cannot be relieved or is unbearable, and seeking the medication of their own free will.
Lawmakers said psychological suffering alone would not qualify a person for medically assisted dying. People with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's would not be eligible. Patients would have to initiate the request themselves, after which health professionals would review it within 15 days. They would then need to confirm the request after a reflection period of at least two days.
If approved, patients could take the lethal medication at a time and place of their choice, including at home or in a healthcare facility, and in the presence of loved ones if they wish. On the chosen date, the doctor or nurse would have to check that the person still wished to proceed and stay nearby in case complications arose. France's national health insurance system would cover all related costs.
A 2023 report found that most French people support legalising end-of-life options, and opinion polls have shown support rising over the past two decades. The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said the law would allow people "to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness". Its president, Jonathan Denis, said: "a law that creates a new right never forces anyone to exercise it. It does, however, ensure that every person ... can remain at the heart of medical decisions that concern them and have their wishes respected." Opponents said the measure could place pressure on older people and those living with illness or disabilities. In an open letter to Macron, the anti-euthanasia group Alliance Vita said that "every effort must be made to ensure that people who are suffering have immediate access to palliative care and support. Presenting death as a desirable solution can never be an acceptable response to suffering and is contrary to human dignity."
The Senate, where conservatives hold a majority, rejected the bill, but under France's legislative process the National Assembly has the final say when the two houses disagree. Senate President Gerard Larcher and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said they would refer the bill to the Constitutional Council, which has up to a month to decide whether it complies with the Constitution. The law would take effect only after that review. Lecornu said: "Extensive debates have taken place in the National Assembly on this bill. However, discussions in the Senate did not allow for such an in-depth examination, in order to produce legislation that addresses both the aspirations of its supporters and the concerns of those who are worried about how it will be implemented."
Debate over end-of-life options is continuing elsewhere as well. In the UK, a bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales will formally return to Parliament on September 11, five months after it ran out of time in the last session. Opponents in the House of Lords blocked its passage in April by filing more than 1,200 amendments, raising concerns including possible coercion of vulnerable people and a lack of safeguards for people with disabilities, after the House of Commons had passed it. The bill expected to return would allow adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. In Germany, the Bundestag considered two proposals to regulate assisted dying in 2023 and rejected both. France's vote marks the end of a long parliamentary process, while the final law still awaits constitutional review.
With PTI Inputs
France's National Assembly on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would allow some adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, after years of debate over end-of-life care. The lower house passed the measure by 291 votes to 241, completing Parliament's work on legislation announced by President Emmanuel Macron more than three years ago.
The bill would allow medically assisted suicide under strict conditions, while also setting out who would not qualify. Its passage comes as France continues to debate the legal, medical, moral and religious questions around end-of-life care, and as similar debates continue in countries including the United Kingdom and Germany.
Assisted dying is available to around 300 million people worldwide, according to various estimates, with euthanasia legal under certain conditions in some countries and assisted suicide allowed in others and in several US states. France has an ageing population and growing numbers of patients needing care for chronic illnesses. The country already allows doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated before death, but does not currently permit assisted suicide or euthanasia. Many French people have travelled to neighbouring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal.
Under the proposed law, patients would be allowed to receive and self-administer lethal medication. Only those whose physical condition prevents them from doing so would be allowed to receive help from a doctor or nurse. Medically assisted suicide generally involves a patient voluntarily taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor, while euthanasia involves a doctor or another health professional administering a lethal injection at the patient's request.
To qualify, a person would have to be at least 18 years old and either a French citizen or a legal resident of France. A doctor would first have to consult a team of health professionals and then confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening. The patient must be in an advanced or terminal stage, facing pain that cannot be relieved or is unbearable, and seeking the medication of their own free will.
Lawmakers said psychological suffering alone would not qualify a person for medically assisted dying. People with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's would not be eligible. Patients would have to initiate the request themselves, after which health professionals would review it within 15 days. They would then need to confirm the request after a reflection period of at least two days.
If approved, patients could take the lethal medication at a time and place of their choice, including at home or in a healthcare facility, and in the presence of loved ones if they wish. On the chosen date, the doctor or nurse would have to check that the person still wished to proceed and stay nearby in case complications arose. France's national health insurance system would cover all related costs.
A 2023 report found that most French people support legalising end-of-life options, and opinion polls have shown support rising over the past two decades. The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said the law would allow people "to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness". Its president, Jonathan Denis, said: "a law that creates a new right never forces anyone to exercise it. It does, however, ensure that every person ... can remain at the heart of medical decisions that concern them and have their wishes respected." Opponents said the measure could place pressure on older people and those living with illness or disabilities. In an open letter to Macron, the anti-euthanasia group Alliance Vita said that "every effort must be made to ensure that people who are suffering have immediate access to palliative care and support. Presenting death as a desirable solution can never be an acceptable response to suffering and is contrary to human dignity."
The Senate, where conservatives hold a majority, rejected the bill, but under France's legislative process the National Assembly has the final say when the two houses disagree. Senate President Gerard Larcher and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said they would refer the bill to the Constitutional Council, which has up to a month to decide whether it complies with the Constitution. The law would take effect only after that review. Lecornu said: "Extensive debates have taken place in the National Assembly on this bill. However, discussions in the Senate did not allow for such an in-depth examination, in order to produce legislation that addresses both the aspirations of its supporters and the concerns of those who are worried about how it will be implemented."
Debate over end-of-life options is continuing elsewhere as well. In the UK, a bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales will formally return to Parliament on September 11, five months after it ran out of time in the last session. Opponents in the House of Lords blocked its passage in April by filing more than 1,200 amendments, raising concerns including possible coercion of vulnerable people and a lack of safeguards for people with disabilities, after the House of Commons had passed it. The bill expected to return would allow adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. In Germany, the Bundestag considered two proposals to regulate assisted dying in 2023 and rejected both. France's vote marks the end of a long parliamentary process, while the final law still awaits constitutional review.
With PTI Inputs
France's National Assembly on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would allow some adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, after years of debate over end-of-life care. The lower house passed the measure by 291 votes to 241, completing Parliament's work on legislation announced by President Emmanuel Macron more than three years ago.
The bill would allow medically assisted suicide under strict conditions, while also setting out who would not qualify. Its passage comes as France continues to debate the legal, medical, moral and religious questions around end-of-life care, and as similar debates continue in countries including the United Kingdom and Germany.
Assisted dying is available to around 300 million people worldwide, according to various estimates, with euthanasia legal under certain conditions in some countries and assisted suicide allowed in others and in several US states. France has an ageing population and growing numbers of patients needing care for chronic illnesses. The country already allows doctors to keep terminally ill patients sedated before death, but does not currently permit assisted suicide or euthanasia. Many French people have travelled to neighbouring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia are legal.
Under the proposed law, patients would be allowed to receive and self-administer lethal medication. Only those whose physical condition prevents them from doing so would be allowed to receive help from a doctor or nurse. Medically assisted suicide generally involves a patient voluntarily taking lethal medication prescribed by a doctor, while euthanasia involves a doctor or another health professional administering a lethal injection at the patient's request.
To qualify, a person would have to be at least 18 years old and either a French citizen or a legal resident of France. A doctor would first have to consult a team of health professionals and then confirm that the patient has a serious and incurable illness that is life-threatening. The patient must be in an advanced or terminal stage, facing pain that cannot be relieved or is unbearable, and seeking the medication of their own free will.
Lawmakers said psychological suffering alone would not qualify a person for medically assisted dying. People with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's would not be eligible. Patients would have to initiate the request themselves, after which health professionals would review it within 15 days. They would then need to confirm the request after a reflection period of at least two days.
If approved, patients could take the lethal medication at a time and place of their choice, including at home or in a healthcare facility, and in the presence of loved ones if they wish. On the chosen date, the doctor or nurse would have to check that the person still wished to proceed and stay nearby in case complications arose. France's national health insurance system would cover all related costs.
A 2023 report found that most French people support legalising end-of-life options, and opinion polls have shown support rising over the past two decades. The Association for the Right to Die With Dignity said the law would allow people "to choose to end unbearable suffering, freely and with full awareness". Its president, Jonathan Denis, said: "a law that creates a new right never forces anyone to exercise it. It does, however, ensure that every person ... can remain at the heart of medical decisions that concern them and have their wishes respected." Opponents said the measure could place pressure on older people and those living with illness or disabilities. In an open letter to Macron, the anti-euthanasia group Alliance Vita said that "every effort must be made to ensure that people who are suffering have immediate access to palliative care and support. Presenting death as a desirable solution can never be an acceptable response to suffering and is contrary to human dignity."
The Senate, where conservatives hold a majority, rejected the bill, but under France's legislative process the National Assembly has the final say when the two houses disagree. Senate President Gerard Larcher and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said they would refer the bill to the Constitutional Council, which has up to a month to decide whether it complies with the Constitution. The law would take effect only after that review. Lecornu said: "Extensive debates have taken place in the National Assembly on this bill. However, discussions in the Senate did not allow for such an in-depth examination, in order to produce legislation that addresses both the aspirations of its supporters and the concerns of those who are worried about how it will be implemented."
Debate over end-of-life options is continuing elsewhere as well. In the UK, a bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales will formally return to Parliament on September 11, five months after it ran out of time in the last session. Opponents in the House of Lords blocked its passage in April by filing more than 1,200 amendments, raising concerns including possible coercion of vulnerable people and a lack of safeguards for people with disabilities, after the House of Commons had passed it. The bill expected to return would allow adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months to live to apply for an assisted death, subject to the approval of two doctors and an expert panel. In Germany, the Bundestag considered two proposals to regulate assisted dying in 2023 and rejected both. France's vote marks the end of a long parliamentary process, while the final law still awaits constitutional review.
With PTI Inputs
