French National Assembly Approves Assisted Dying Bill

France's National Assembly is scheduled to give final approval on Wednesday to a bill allowing adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication. The measure was announced by President Emmanuel Macron more than three years ago. The lower house backed the bill in three previous readings.

The Senate rejected it, but the National Assembly holds final authority when the chambers disagree. Senate President Gérard Larcher stated he will refer the bill to the Constitutional Council once adopted. The council will have up to one month to assess constitutional compliance.

The law would enter into force only after that review. Patients must be at least 18 years old and either French citizens or legal residents. A doctor must consult a health care team and confirm a serious incurable life-threatening illness in an advanced or terminal stage with unrelievable pain.

The patient must act of their own free will.

Psychological suffering alone does not qualify, and people with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s are ineligible. Patients initiate the request, which health professionals review within 15 days, followed by a reflection period of at least two days.

Approved patients may take the lethal medication at a time and place of their choice, including at home or in a health care facility. France’s national health insurance system would cover all associated costs.

A 2023 report found that most French people favor legalizing end-of-life options, with opinion polls showing support increasing over the past two decades. In recent years many French people have traveled to neighboring countries where medically assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal.