France's Assisted Dying Bill Awaits Constitutional Council Ruling

The French parliament has passed a bill authorising assisted dying for adults with terminal illnesses. The legislation allows severely ill patients to request a lethal substance, which can be self-administered or administered with a doctor’s assistance.

Approved on Wednesday, the bill applies to French citizens or permanent residents suffering from an advanced, life-threatening condition that causes persistent physical suffering. Lawmakers specified that psychological suffering alone does not qualify, thereby excluding patients with severe psychiatric disorders or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Patients must also be capable of expressing their choice freely and with full information, and are required to undergo a medical examination before their case is assessed by a panel of experts.

The vote does not conclude the legislative and judicial process. The government used a constitutional mechanism to bypass the Senate, which is dominated by conservative and right-wing parties. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu stated the bill will now be submitted to the Constitutional Council for a final ruling. The Council retains the authority to invalidate the law or raise objections to specific parts, though such actions are rare.

The bill is the culmination of years of deliberation and was a campaign promise made by President Emmanuel Macron. ‘In 2022, I promised the French people to open this path,’ Macron wrote on X. ‘With seriousness, humility, and full respect for our democracy, that promise has now been kept.’ Lawmakers also paid tribute to the bill’s author, former MP Olivier Falorni, who attended the session and noted the achievement came after ‘14 years of parliamentary struggle.’ If cleared by the Constitutional Council, France will join other European nations such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland in legalising assisted dying, alongside Canada, New Zealand, and several states in the United States and Australia.