This step was supported by President Emmanuel Macron. He promised such a law when he was re-elected for a second term in 2022. It is considered one of the most important social reforms since 2012, when France legalized same-sex marriage.
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If the country’s highest constitutional institution approves the legislation, France will join the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, which have legalized assisted dying.
“In 2022, I committed to opening this path together with the people of France,” Emmanuel Macron wrote on the social network X. “Seriously, humbly, and with full respect for our democracy, this commitment has been fulfilled.”
The law establishes the right to assisted dying for some adults suffering from incurable diseases.
They must be able to express their will “freely and consciously” and endure physical pain that cannot be alleviated by medical means or which, in the patient’s opinion, is unbearable when they decide not to undergo treatment or to stop treatment.
The doctor would be responsible for checking the patient’s eligibility before the commission evaluates the criteria.
Ultimately, the decision would be made only by the doctor, and the patient could withdraw consent at any time.
The patient would self-administer the lethal substance, except in cases where a healthcare worker would have to assist due to the patient’s physical condition.
“A historic moment”
Jonathan Denis from the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity (ADMD) said that battles still lie ahead, but this is a historic moment.
Lawmakers applauded the project author Olivier Falorni after what he called a long struggle in parliament.
“Many patients died before they could use this right. My thoughts are with them, their loved ones, their families,” Olivier Falorni said in the lower house of parliament.
The law was easily passed in the National Assembly but was rejected in the upper house – the Senate. The government allowed the lower house to have the final say without the Senate’s approval, as permitted by the constitution.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu asked the Constitutional Council to review the new legislation.
His office reported that the request was made after the lack of discussion in the right-wing Senate meant the text did not meet “either the expectations of its supporters or the concerns of those worried about its implementation.”
The Council, whose decisions are binding, can in extreme cases declare the entire law invalid or express doubts about certain parts of it.
Right-wing heavyweights from the traditional right-wing Republicans party, which dominates the Senate, such as chairman Gerard Larcher and former interior minister Bruno Retailleau, strongly opposed this legislation.
“A devilish chain”
Brigitte Liso, a legislator from the president’s centrist party Renaissance, told the assembly she was proud to participate in passing this law.
“I am proud because one day I will be able to tell my grandchildren: ‘I was there,'” she said.
However, Republican Justine Gruet said it would be remembered as “the day the French parliament decided that human life can be legally ended.”
“History will judge us,” she added.
In 2012, France allowed same-sex couples to marry, and in 2024 became the first country in the world to enshrine the right to terminate pregnancy in its constitution.
Orthodox priest Emmanuel Delhoume protested the bill outside parliament along with others.
“I cannot agree with abortion, marriage for all, or euthanasia,” he told AFP. “It is a devilish chain of events.”
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