End of life: the two texts will be voted on at the same time in the Assembly

The government still plans to split the end-of-life bill into two, but both texts will be tabled by the deputies themselves and then voted on at the same time at the end of May, the government announced on February 26. These are two different texts which will be two bills, one on palliative care and another on assistance (in) dying (…): they will be voted on the same day, one after the other.", declared Patrick Mignola, Minister of Relations with Parliament on Public Sénat. This vote will take place at the end of May after two weeks of examination which will begin on May 12, the minister's entourage specified to AFP.

Prime Minister François Bayrou announced at the beginning of the year his intention to split this text on the end of life into two, which could legalize under certain conditions a " active aid to die", in fact a form of assisted suicide. Its vote has been postponed multiple times, notably by the dissolution of 2024.

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Mr. Bayrou's choice is rather defended by the opponents of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide, who want to separate this subject from that of palliative care. The supporters of a form of assisted suicide, whose spearhead in the Assembly is the deputy Olivier Falorni, have on the other hand regretted this decision, seeing the risk of burying the part devoted to aid in dying.

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A criticized choice

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This choice was also strongly criticized by the President of the Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, and does not have consensus within the government since the Minister of Health, Catherine Vautrin, said she preferred a single text. The government had already announced a compromise in mid-February, promising a " joint discussion " to the Assembly on both sides.

Mr. Mignola's remarks on Wednesday went even further: by promising two bills, which by definition come from the deputies and not from the government, he is giving Parliament more room for maneuver. A parliamentary source told AFP, confirming information from franceinfo, that it would be Mr. Falorni who would submit the part devoted to assisted dying and Frédéric Valletoux, former Minister of Health, that on palliative care. She added that the government had committed to then sending the two texts directly to the Senate.