French National Assembly okays 'right to die' law
French President Emmanuel Macron said France's proposed euthanasia law could become a ballot initiative if the nation's lawmakers don't approve it after the National Assembly passed enabling legislation on its first reading. File Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo
May 27 (UPI) -- France's National Assembly approved a measure that would legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia if signed into law.
The French lawmakers passed the measure, dubbed the "right to die" law, on a 305-199 vote during the measure's first reading in the National Assembly, but the conditions would be among the most restrictive in Europe, The Guardian reported.
The measure authorizes assisted suicide or euthanasia for adults ages 18 and over under very strict conditions.
A patient must have a "serious and incurable" illness that has become either terminal or "advanced" to qualify for the procedure, Politico reported.
They also must experience "unbearable" psychological or physical suffering that resists treatment.
Patients must be able to provide informed consent and must self-administer any lethal medication if they are physically capable of doing so.
A medical doctor also must approve the procedure for respective patients if the proposed measure becomes law.
Centrist and leftwing lawmakers generally voted in favor of the measure, while conservative lawmakers mostly opposed it.
Although the National Assembly passed the bill, it faces a vote in the Senate and goes back to the National Assembly for an additional vote following a second reading.
France recently implemented a new parliamentary system that requires the National Assembly to vote on bills during a first reading and then again during a second reading upon passage in the Senate.
Several other European states, including Austria, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland, have similar laws in effect.
Lawmakers in the United Kingdom are considering legalizing a similar procedure there.
If French lawmakers do not legalize the right to die, French President Emmanuel Macron has said it could be put on a ballot for a public vote.
The National Assembly also approved a measure that would legalize palliative care that relieves symptoms of serious illnesses and medical conditions to improve respective patients' quality of life.
That measure received unanimous support in the National Assembly and was sent to the French Senate for consideration.
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