The text was approved by the Constitutional Council last week with some reservations. It creates a right to assisted dying, under several conditions, for certain patients, allowing them to administer a lethal substance to themselves in the presence of a healthcare professional. If, and only if, the patient is physically unable to perform the act, the healthcare professional may do so.
The opinion of the Constitutional Council
Several conditions must be met. The patient must be of legal age, French or a long-term resident, and suffer from a condition «"serious and incurable"» terminally ill or «"progress"», to suffer unbearably physically and be able to express an informed choice until the very last moment.
A procedure, conducted by a single doctor but requiring the involvement of other stakeholders, will determine whether a patient is eligible. Before healthcare professionals can implement the legislation, which was definitively adopted by Parliament in mid-July, the government will need to publish the necessary implementing decrees.
A relatively small circle of countries have already granted this right, from Belgium to the Netherlands, including Switzerland, Canada, and Uruguay. In a decision issued Friday, the Constitutional Council, presided over by Richard Ferrand, ruled that no provision of this law, considered a major social reform of Emmanuel Macron's second term, violated the Constitution.
The text led to a citizens' convention.
The head of state had welcomed a decision «"which brings to a close an exemplary democratic debate"». Former MoDem MP Olivier Falorni, author of the bill, had also welcomed «"A major step forward that is finally becoming a reality!"»
Conversely, the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation had stated «"outraged"» This decision, supported by the association Les Eligibles and their caregivers, denounces «"This law poses a total danger to the most vulnerable.".
The text, which initially led to a citizens' convention at Mr. Macron's request and then to numerous legislative back-and-forths, has reignited societal divisions, with widespread opposition from religious groups and some healthcare workers. The five appeals—a significant number—submitted to the Council further attested to these debates.
One of them, unusually, came from the Prime Minister himself, Sébastien Lecornu, at the head of a government bringing together the Macron camp – rather favorable to the text but not uniformly – and the Republicans – largely opposed.
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