The National Assembly definitively approves the right to assistance in dying

Paris – 15.07.2026: The National Assembly concluded the parliamentary debate on assistance in dying with the final adoption of the corresponding bill. France thus obtains, for the first time, a legal framework for active assistance in dying. The final decision was made at the Palais-Bourbon after the Senate had previously rejected the text again. Thanks to the Constitution’s provision granting deputies the final say, the National Assembly was able to definitively adopt the initiative.

The text does not create a general right to assistance in dying. Access will only be available to adults who hold French nationality or reside permanently and legally in France. They must suffer from a serious and incurable illness, be in an advanced or terminal stage, and expect fatal suffering in the short or medium term. In addition, the law requires physical or psychological suffering that cannot be effectively relieved or that those affected consider unbearable.

It also remains a requirement that applicants retain full capacity for judgment and decision-making at the time of the request. The wish must be expressed personally, freely and in an informed manner. Minors and persons whose capacity for judgment is significantly impaired are excluded. Advance directives or prior declarations of intent do not replace the current request. In this way, the legislature follows the principle that a decision concerning one’s own death cannot be made by proxy.

The procedure is designed in several stages. A doctor examines the request and consults other healthcare professionals; the decision must therefore not rest with a single person. Following the assessment, a waiting period is provided before the person concerned must confirm their wish again. They may withdraw the request until the very last moment. The lethal substance must, in principle, be taken by the person concerned themselves. Only when this is not physically possible may it be administered by a doctor or nurse.

The parliamentary debate had lasted several years and was further interrupted by the dissolution of the National Assembly in 2024. At its core, two positions clashed: supporters emphasized self-determination and limiting suffering that is impossible to control. Opponents referred to obligations to protect vulnerable patients, elderly people and people with disabilities, as well as the continuing inequality in access to palliative care.

Alongside the regulation on assistance in dying, a specific law to improve access to support and palliative care was already enacted in May 2026. The separation of the two texts was politically significant: it was intended to make clear that expanding palliative services is not treated as an alternative, but as an independent public task. The proposal now definitively adopted must still complete the subsequent procedure until its promulgation.

For France, the decision marks a fundamental change in the legal framework at the end of life. The Claeys-Leonetti regulation in force until now allowed, under strict conditions, in particular the withdrawal of life-prolonging measures and deep, continuous sedation until death. The new regulation goes further by allowing, under strict substantive and procedural conditions, access to a lethal substance.