France has supported the legalization of assisted suicide
On July 15, French lawmakers approved a bill that paves the way for the legalization of assisted suicide for patients with incurable diseases.
The bill provides for the possibility of receiving assistance in voluntarily ending one’s life under conditions specified by law. The decision marks an important step in reforming French legislation regarding the right to a dignified end of life.
As noted, patients aged 18 and older who suffer from a “serious and incurable” life-threatening illness that has reached an advanced, irreversible, or terminal stage will have the right to request assisted suicide.
However, this is possible only if their illness causes “unbearable” suffering and they are capable of making a decision “freely and with full awareness of the circumstances.”
Cases involving solely psychological suffering have been excluded from the French bill.
If a patient’s request is deemed valid, the patient will administer the lethal injection themselves, or a healthcare professional will administer it if the patient is unable to do so.
Healthcare professionals will be allowed to refuse to administer the injection if they have moral objections to the procedure, but they will be required to refer the patient to someone else who can provide this service.
Once the constitutional review is complete, the bill is expected to be signed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Politico reports on this.
As a reminder, the Netherlands maintains restrictions on assisted suicide.
A concert by pianist Elizabeth Leonskaya, who performed in Russia after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was canceled in the Netherlands.
