After a multi-year legislative struggle, France's Assemblée Nationale legalized medical aid in dying for some patients.
Le Monde has the story:
"With this bill, we are facing death head-on," declared French President Emmanuel Macron on March 10, 2024. More than two years later, the Assemblée Nationale cast a definitive vote on Wednesday, July 15, on the bill establishing a right to assisted dying. With the adoption of the law, France joins 11 other countries where people with severe illnesses can obtain a lethal substance on medical prescription, based on criteria varying from one legal system to another.
"The "French end-of-life model," a phrase Macron used in 2023, originated from the president's own initiative. However, its design resulted solely from the work of MPs after four rounds of readings, the Sénat having rejected the bill three times. Supporters have praised the bill as "balanced" and "secure," offering safeguards to ensure that recourse to assisted dying remains "an exception." Its critics, however, argue that the "safeguards" provided are not sufficient for preventing "abuse."
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The Catholic Courier summarizes some of the opposition to the bill:
France’s bishops criticize vote legalizing ‘assisted dying’
Caroline De Sury/OSV News | 07.16.2026
"PARIS (OSV News) — France’s bishops are strongly criticizing a “radical choice” made by French lawmakers to legalize “assisted dying.”
"A watershed vote by the National Assembly July 15 legalized assisted dying, including euthanasia and assisted suicide in certain cases.
"Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille and president of the bishops’ conference, lamented that “members of parliament have enshrined in French law the possibility of causing death.”
...
"For the bishops, one of the greatest dangers of the law stems from the fact that the principle that death can constitute a medical response to suffering has now become part of the legal heritage of the country. The choice to die can then be asserted as a right that could be extended to others.
“Experience in other countries shows that the criteria for access to assisted dying always tend to broaden, to the detriment of palliative care,” they noted.
"Meanwhile, “the effects of such legislation are not yet fully measured, but they are already taking shape,” the bishops warned. “Our relationship to vulnerability, old age, disability, and illness will change,” they added.
“The poorest are likely to be the first to pay the price: not wanting to be a burden on their children or grandchildren, elderly people in precarious situations may feel pressured to die,” the prelates warned.
"Catholic care facilities could face legal action for refusing euthanasia, assisted suicide on their premises
For the bishops today, the most immediate and concrete concern is that, if the law goes into effect, care facilities — foremost among them Catholic institutions — could face legal action if they refuse to allow euthanasia or assisted suicide to take place on their premises. As it stands, the law will require the head of the facility or department to authorize outside practitioners to perform the lethal procedure.
"The bishops have therefore announced that they will “closely monitor the referrals to the Constitutional Council” that were announced prior to the vote.
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"On July 14, while France was celebrating Bastille Day — the country’s biggest national holiday — Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu surprised many by announcing that he would appeal to the Constitutional Council to submit the text of this law — to which he is personally opposed — for review. He justified this final recourse by citing the lack of agreement between the two chambers, the National Assembly and the Senate. A few days earlier, Senate President Gérard Larcher had announced his intention to take the same step.
"The Constitutional Council may approve the entire bill, strike down certain provisions, or issue interpretive reservations before the law is promulgated by Macron. The referral requested by the prime minister will focus in particular on the absence of a conscience clause allowing healthcare facilities — such as the Catholic nursing homes run by the Little Sisters of the Poor — to be legally authorized to refuse to provide such “assisted dying” services on their premises.
"Pending the outcome of the appeal, the bishops of France have reiterated their call to Catholics in France to “bear witness that another path is possible — one of faithful presence and attentive care that alleviates physical or psychological suffering, without ever abandoning anyone.”
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