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July 19, 2026

Andrew Campbell 

On July 15, the French National Assembly officially approved a landmark bill permitting assisted dying for terminally ill adults. Under the new legislation, eligible individuals must have a "serious and incurable" life-threatening condition in its "advanced or terminal stage." Additionally, they must be experiencing constant, intolerable, or treatment-resistant physical or psychological suffering.

The lower house of the French Parliament adopted the bill in a 291–241 vote, having already supported the legislation through three previous readings. This vote concludes parliament's work on the bill, which had previously been rejected three times by the Senate, the upper chamber. The decision marks the end of years of intense debate over end-of-life care in France.

French President Emmanuel Macron first proposed the legislation over three years ago. Before the bill can officially become law, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu plans to refer specific portions of it to the French Constitutional Council for judicial review.