Assisted dying proposals in France have suffered a major setback and the bill may now be unworkable after the French Senate failed to agree on who should be eligible for assisted suicide and strengthened citizens’ rights to pain relief until death.
The bill had originally been passed by the National Assembly last year but the Senate, the parliament’s upper chamber, narrowly rejected the provisions of Article 4, which states who is eligible for assisted suicide and is considered to be one of the bill’s most important elements.
The vote followed disagreements over proposed amendments to Article 4 and a failure to agree on a compromised position. The Senate’s Social Affairs Committee’s recommendation to narrow its scope was described by proponents of the bill as being too limiting, while other senators saw original proposals as being too wide in scope.
Furthermore, Article 2 was also amended to state that “everyone has the right to the best possible relief from pain and suffering” which may be exercised until death “without any voluntary intervention intending to cause death or assist in dying,” strengthening palliative care provisions and making it even more difficult to legalise assisted dying.
Legislation must be passed in both parliamentary chambers if it is to become law in France and the bill can now go between the chambers again. However, its passage is believed to be unlikely due to the fundamental disagreements over its provisions.
Franck Meyer, President of the Evangelical Protestant Committee for Human Dignity Info (CPDH) told French publication Chrétienne (Christian Information) that the proposed “dark” legislation will see the country move in the wrong direction.
He said: “On behalf of the CPDH, I hope this will not come to pass. We are following the parliamentary debates, writing to members of parliament, and playing our role as citizens and intermediary bodies within civil society.”
