France legalizes assisted dying for terminally ill patients

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PARIS — French lawmakers voted on Wednesday to legalize assisted dying for terminally ill patients, bringing to an end a fraught, months-long process that sowed deep divisions within every political camp.

Patients over the age of 18 suffering from a “serious and incurable” illness that is life-threatening and has reached an advanced, irreversible or terminal stage will be allowed to request assistance in dying, but only if their illness causes “unbearable” suffering and they are capable of making the decision “freely and with full knowledge of the facts.”

France is set to join a growing list of European countries that have legalized various forms of assisted dying, including Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, in a debate that has divided political groups. Voting has gone broadly on personal conscience, religious beliefs and ethical considerations.

Cases involving psychological suffering alone were excluded from the French bill. For patient requests that are deemed eligible, a lethal injection will either be self-administered by the patient or administered by a medical professional if the patient is unable to do so.

Health professionals will be allowed to refuse to administer the injection if they are morally opposed to the procedure but will be required to refer the patient to someone else who can provide the service.

In a statement released on Tuesday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, a former conservative who is now allied with centrist President Emmanuel Macron, said he would refer the bill to France’s Constitutional Council for a legal review to ensure that “the law … can be enforced in full compliance with the principles guaranteed by our Constitution and, in particular, with human dignity.”

He also voiced concerns about the possibility of adults under legal guardianship receiving assistance in dying and said he wanted to ensure the measure complied with the constitutional “principles of personal freedom and human dignity.”

Critics argue that adults under legal guardianship — about 900,000 people in France whose personal or financial decisions are subject to legal supervision — should not be allowed to request assisted dying because they have already been deemed incapable of making certain decisions for themselves.

Once the constitutional review is complete, the bill — which Macron promised as part of his 2022 reelection campaign — should be formally enacted by the president.

Most votes in favor of legalization came from the left and center. And while opposition was concentrated on the right and far right, supporters and opponents of the bill could be found within every political group represented in parliament.

The conservative-majority French Senate rejected the bill three times, though the final say ultimately rested with the more powerful lower house, the National Assembly. For the fourth time since the spring of 2025, the National Assembly voted in favor, putting an end to the process in parliament.

Leading representatives of the Catholic, Muslim and Jewish faiths all voiced their opposition on several occasions.