FRANCE – The Assemblée to vote on an Assisted Dying Bill on 27 May
20 May 2025
Since Monday, 12 May 2025, the Assemblée has been debating two bills, one on palliative care and one on assisted dying (“aide à mourir”). French Prime Minister François Bayrou had arranged for the original “projet de loi relatif à l’accompagnement des malades et de la fin de vie” to be split into two bills. His reasoning: ensuring palliative care is a duty, “aide à mourir” is a matter of conscience. Those in favour see this tactic as an attempt to play the two topics off against each other. To appease them, the two bills will be dealt with together and both will have to be voted on 27 May 2025. This is intended to prevent the “aide à mourir” bill from being blocked by a flood of amendments etc., as has happened in the past, thus making a final vote impossible. President Emmanuel Macron announced that he would not rule out a referendum in the event that the bill was blocked.
With the current majorities, the bill is likely to have a hard time. It is too liberal for many, of course mainly for opponents of true self-determination and freedom of choice over one’s own end of suffering and life. In addition, if passed, it still needs to be approved by the (conservative) Senate.
