France Passes Law Creating Right to 'Aide à Mourir'

Overview

• The National Assembly definitively adopted the bill by 291 votes to 241 with 29 abstentions, completing parliamentary approval of a law that legalizes assisted suicide and allows exceptions for euthanasia.
• Senate president Gérard Larcher and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu have each referred the law to the Constitutional Council and a transpartisan filing led by LR deputy Patrick Hetzel and about 60 parliamentarians is also being prepared.
• Challengers argue the text lacks safeguards on free and informed consent, protection of vulnerable people, a judicial role in disputed cases, a broader conscience clause for staff and institutions, and they contest the 48‑hour reflection period.
• The law is not yet promulgated and key implementation decisions remain open, including which lethal products will be authorized, pricing, clinical protocols, and detailed rules for hospitals, pharmacists and health professionals.
• The Council faces a fast timetable and calls for recusals because some members previously expressed views on assisted dying; its decision could confirm the law, issue interpretive reservations that guide decrees, or strike out provisions and delay enactment as France follows models in Belgium, Switzerland and Canada.