Overview
- France’s Senate rejected assisted suicide by 151–118 and definitively passed a palliative-care law by 325–18, putting expanded end-of-life support into force.
- Italy’s Senate set a general debate on end-of-life legislation, opening a short window for committees to agree on a text before the bill reaches the floor.
- Under Senate rules, a missed committee deal would send the opposition’s Bazoli bill—aligned with court criteria and the public health service—to the floor.
- The majority’s Zanettin‑Zullo draft is contested because it removes the national health service from the process, gives eligibility decisions to a minister‑appointed national committee, and narrows access by requiring “substitutive” life‑support treatments.
- Forza Italia is pushing allies to soften the majority text and involve the health service, and secret ballots in the chamber could make cross‑party amendments easier to pass.