With 305 votes for and 199 against, the French National Assembly adopted the much debated and highly controversial euthanasia law on Tuesday afternoon.
To qualify for assisted suicide under the new law, patients must meet five conditions. They must be adults and French citizens. They must have a serious, incurable illness that is life-threatening and in its final stages. They need to be experiencing physical or mental suffering caused by the illness. Finally, they must be able to clearly and freely express their wishes, with full understanding of their decision.
A ‘companion law’ expanding palliative care was adopted with 560 votes for and 0 against.
Critics have pointed out that any safeguards protecting vulnerable people have been removed during the process of getting the text to a vote. Comments at a demonstration by disabled people—the “eligible”—and others opposing the law last weekend stated that
this law, which implicitly claims that a life without autonomy is not worth living, is extremely violent toward people with disabilities. And in the long run, regardless of what its supporters say, it will create pressure for the ‘useless’ or those seen as a ‘burden on society’ to disappear.
One of the most fiercely contested elements of the new law is the criminalization of dissuading a person from euthanasia. “Preventing or attempting to prevent” a person from assisted suicide is now a crime in France, punishable by two years in prison and €30,000 in fines.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau voiced his outrage on social media, saying it crosses a “new line” that is “not acceptable”:
Reaching out to those who are suffering is the hallmark of humanity. Do we really want a society that condemns those who try to give a reason to live to those who no longer have any? This is going way too far. We cannot be guilty of compassion!
Instaurer un délit d’entrave à l’aide à mourir avec une peine de deux ans de prison, c’est franchir une nouvelle limite qui n’est pas supportable.
Tendre la main à celui qui souffre est le propre de l’humanité. Est-ce que nous voulons vraiment d’une société qui condamne celui…
— Bruno Retailleau (@BrunoRetailleau) May 24, 2025
