France’s parliament on Wednesday approved a bill to allow assisted dying for terminally ill adults.
The law would allow an adult who is terminally ill to request a lethal substance that could be either self-administered or administered by a doctor.
It applies to French citizens or legal residents who have an illness that is life-threatening and in an advanced or terminal phase, and which is causing them constant physical suffering. Lawmakers stressed that psychological suffering alone is not a qualifying factor, disqualifying those suffering from severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Patients must also be able to express their free and informed choice, and must be examined by a physician and then have their case assessed by a panel of experts.
However, Wednesday’s vote did not mark the end of the law’s legislative and judicial path. France’s highest constitutional authority will have the final say at a later date.
What’s next for France’s assisted dying law?
The lower house of France’s National Assembly on Wednesday passed the law, with 291 votes in favor and 241 against. It had also approved the law in three previous readings.
However, the government used a constitutional rule to bypass the upper house, ot Senate, which is dominated by conservatives and right-wing parties.
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Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the law would instead go to the Constitutional Council for a final say.
The Constitutional Council still has the power to declare the law invalid or to express reservations about certain sections, though such cases are extreme.
’14 years of parliamentary battles’
The assisted dying law has been years in the making and was even an election promise made by President Emmanuel Macron.
“In 2022, I made a commitment to open this path with the French people,” Macron wrote on X. “With seriousness, humility, and in full respect of our democracy, that commitment has been honored.”
Lawmakers also applauded the bill’s author, former deputy Olivier Falorni, who was present in the chamber. He said the vote had passed after “14 years of parliamentary battles.”
If the law clears the Constitutional Council, France will join fellow European countries Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland in legalizing assisted dying, as well as Canada, New Zealand, and some states in the US and Australia .
Edited by: Rana Taha
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