The National Assembly on Friday adopted several key articles of the law on assisted dying, including an article defining the eligibility criteria for accessing it, and another framing the collegial procedure planned to examine a patient's request.
The deputies, who are studying the text in second reading after its rejection in the Senate, approved in the morning the one establishing the eligibility criteria, by 55 votes against 31.
In the current version, the text stipulates five cumulative conditions for the patient, who must be:
– major
– French citizens or residents of France
– suffering from a “serious and incurable condition” that “is life-threatening” in an advanced or terminal stage
– “capable of expressing his will freely and with full knowledge”
– “presenting physical or psychological suffering” that is “either resistant to treatment or unbearable”
This last criterion is the only one to have been modified; the text initially stipulated that physical or psychological suffering had to be "constant." However, amendments from the Socialist and La France Insoumise parties removed this requirement, with the support of the government.
"Pain, in any case, fluctuates throughout the day," argued Health Minister Stéphanie Rist.
The other point of contention is the issue of psychological suffering, with some MPs attempting to clarify that it alone could not justify access to assisted dying. Their amendments were rejected, but the government requested a further deliberation, which is expected to take place on Tuesday.
– Some changes adopted –
Following this, the deputies adopted another article that outlines how to make a request. The patient must make it to a doctor who is not their relative, in-law, spouse, partner, civil union partner, or legal heir.
The doctor must in particular check whether the person is subject to a legal protection measure (guardianship, curatorship, etc.) by referring to a register.
Problem: the register in question will not be ready as hoped by December 31, 2026. Stéphanie Rist had an amendment adopted providing that it be "postponed" until at the latest, "December 31, 2028".
Until then, the doctor "will be able to request additional information to see if the person is protected or not," the minister added.
The deputies then adopted, by 55 votes to 33, an article framing the collegial procedure for examining requests for assistance in dying.
The doctor will need to organize a meeting to verify the person's eligibility, which will include at least a specialist in the condition, a healthcare professional involved in the treatment, and the doctor themselves. The doctor may also invite other healthcare professionals.
An amendment by Socialist MP Dominique Potier was adopted to ensure that a caregiver is also present at this meeting, "when the person has designated one and wishes for their involvement in the procedure".
The deputies adopted a government amendment specifying that the doctor can also "seek the opinion" of a specialist doctor for protected persons (for example under guardianship).
Finally, the members of parliament adopted by a show of hands an amendment enshrining, as they had done in a previous article, the free choice of self-administration of the lethal substance, or administration by a doctor or nurse. Until now, assisted suicide was the rule in the text, and euthanasia the exception, only when the person is "physically unable" to administer it themselves.
As before, a second deliberation has been requested on this amendment, which will take place at the end of the examination, just before the formal vote on the entire text, scheduled for Tuesday.
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