The bill, which sparked debate in France, allows adults with incurable diseases to take fatal medications.
The French House of Representatives approved a bill on Tuesday that would legalize assisted suicide assisted, paving the way for medical professionals to help end their lives by taking fatal substances.
Passed on May 27 by a vote of 305-199, the bill grants the right to support suicide to French citizens over the age of 18 who are suffering from a serious or incurable condition that is life-less, advanced or terminal.
According to the law, a team of healthcare professionals must ensure that patients have and suffer from a serious, incurable disease “at the advanced or terminal stage.” Those found to have interfered with someone’s right to suicide could face two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros ($32,500).
The final passage of the long-extended bill is now heading towards the Senate.
The Association for the Right to Die with Dignity (ADMD) also celebrated the move.
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After administering a deadly substance, the doctor or nurse says that while he does not need to stay at the bedside, he must be nearby and in front of him to intervene if necessary. All costs of dying aid are covered by French National Health Insurance.
A healthcare professional can refuse to assist suicide assist under a “conscientious challenge clause,” but the patient must be referred to another practitioner.
Eddy Casterman, a MP for the Identity-Liberties party, voted against the bill. He said it was a “dangerous slope.”
Speaking at Grande Roges de France on May 5, a prominent Masonic Lodge of French Masonics, founded in 1894, Macron called suicide support “lower evil.”
He also thanked the Masons for their extensive commitment to the “end-of-life discussion.”
The Catholic French bishop condemned his remarks.
“It’s simply death. This must be said without lying, without hiding behind the words. Killing is not a choice of brotherhood or dignity. Helping to the end is a choice of abandonment and rejection.
Other religious leaders have expressed their opposition to the law.
French patients trying to end their lives frequently traveled to Belgium and the Netherlands, particularly frequently.
Spain approved euthanasia in 2021, followed by Portugal in 2023.
Reuters contributed to this report.
