The French Parliament today approved a bill allowing medically assisted suicide for patients with terminal illnesses, an issue that continues to spark intense political debate in the country.

Under strict conditions, the law allows a patient who requests it to receive a lethal substance, which they must administer to themselves or, if physically unable to do so, to have it administered by a doctor or nurse.

Access to assisted suicide is limited to adults who are French citizens or legal residents of France. They must also be suffering from a serious, incurable, life-threatening illness that is in an advanced or terminal stage, be experiencing constant physical or mental suffering due to this condition, and be able to freely express their choice. Mental illness alone is not included among the reasons for which a person may request and receive assistance to end their life.

The National Assembly approved the bill by a vote of 291 in favor to 241 against.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has stated that he will send the bill to the Constitutional Council, which has one month to determine whether it is consistent with the Constitution.

Opinion polls consistently show that public opinion in France is in favor of assisted suicide. In February, an Ifop poll showed that 84% approved of the bill. Its supporters say the law will give greater autonomy and control to people experiencing unbearable suffering at the end of their lives, while also imposing strict safeguards.

“Can you call it life when the suffering is so great that you can no longer do anything?” asked Anne Reynaud, spokesperson for the French Association for the Right to Die with Dignity (ADMD). “People will be able to decide for themselves when and how they will die, once their pain has become unbearable and cannot be relieved,” she added.

Opponents of the bill, including doctors and religious organizations, say that legalizing assisted suicide will put pressure on vulnerable people. The Catholic Church was among those who opposed the bill, and one bishop threatened to deny communion to lawmakers who vote in favor of it.

“A society based on brotherhood supports, protects, and cares for people. It never abandons the most vulnerable among us,” said Bruno Retailleau, a conservative former interior minister and candidate for the French presidency.

Assisted suicide is already legal in many European countries, such as Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as in many U.S. states.

The French Senate, where conservatives hold a majority, voted down the bill, but the National Assembly has the final say.

Source: KYPE