French Parliament passes assisted dying bill for terminally ill adults

Paris: France's Parliament has passed a bill that would allow eligible adults with terminal and incurable illnesses to access assisted dying under strict legal conditions, marking a significant step in the country's end-of-life care legislation.

According to the proposed law, eligible patients may be provided with life-ending medication if they meet the prescribed criteria.

The bill states that patients capable of administering the medication themselves would do so independently. If they are physically unable, a doctor or nurse would be permitted to administer the medication.

Under the legislation, only adults who are French citizens or legal residents of France would qualify.

Applicants must be suffering from a serious and incurable illness that has reached an advanced or terminal stage, subject to the conditions set out in the bill.

The measure was approved in the French Parliament by 291 votes to 241. However, it must still receive approval from France's Constitutional Council before it can come into force.

If the Constitutional Council upholds the legislation, France will join countries including the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, where some form of assisted dying has been legalized under specific legal frameworks.