Burak Bir
15 July 2026•Update: 15 July 2026
French lawmakers voted on Wednesday to adopt a bill establishing a right to assisted dying after years of debate, local media reported.
The National Assembly voted to create a right to assisted dying for some adults under strict conditions, following years of dispute and amendments to the proposal, broadcaster BFMTV reported.
Lawmakers voted 291-241 to back the bill, which had previously been rejected three times by the Senate, the upper house of the French parliament.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is expected to refer parts of the bill to the Constitutional Council for review before it becomes law.
The bill would allow assisted dying for adults with a “serious and incurable” life-threatening illness “in an advanced or terminal stage.”
It would apply only if the illness leaves them in constant physical or psychological suffering that is unbearable or resistant to treatment.
Assisted dying is already legal in nearly a dozen European countries, including Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.
