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Euthanasia in France: For the third time, the Senate says “no.” Progressives and the French left will pass it in Parliament – ZENIT
(ZENIT News / Paris, 07.10.2026).- France’s contentious debate over assisted suicide has entered another decisive phase after the Senate rejected the government’s end-of-life bill for the third time. Although opponents secured a narrow victory in the upper chamber, the legislation now returns to the National Assembly, where supporters are expected to prevail, potentially paving the way for one of the most significant changes to French bioethics in recent decades.
On July 7, senators spent less than two hours debating before approving a motion to reject the bill by 169 votes to 164, with 11 abstentions. The closely divided result highlighted how deeply the issue continues to split French lawmakers, reflecting not only political differences but also fundamentally opposing views about medicine, human dignity and the role of society in caring for the dying.
The bill will now be sent back to the National Assembly for a fourth time. Under Article 45 of the French Constitution, the government can ultimately give the lower house the final say when the two chambers remain deadlocked. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is expected to confirm that procedure, with the Assembly scheduled to hold its final reading on July 15.
The parliamentary impasse has become increasingly evident after months of debate and more than 1,800 amendments to the proposed legislation.
Christine Bonfanti-Dossat, a senator from the conservative Republicans party and one of the bill’s rapporteurs in the Senate, acknowledged that lawmakers had reached what she described as a political deadlock. In her assessment, the disagreement no longer concerns technical details but two incompatible understandings of how society should respond to suffering at the end of life.
She argued that one approach, supported by many deputies in the National Assembly, would make assisted suicide and euthanasia broadly accessible to patients in the advanced stages of illness. The alternative, defended by the Senate committee, sought to limit any form of medically assisted dying to patients whose death was imminent, a position its supporters consider more consistent with medical ethics and the traditional prohibition against intentionally causing death.
Republican Senator Alain Milon voiced an even stronger warning, arguing that legal systems often begin by creating limited exceptions before gradually expanding them. In his view, abandoning the longstanding legal prohibition against intentionally ending human life—even for compassionate motives—would weaken one of the moral foundations upon which society is built.
For the Catholic Church in France, the debate has consistently centered on proposing an alternative rather than merely opposing the legislation.
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris recently appealed for what he called a far more ambitious national commitment to palliative care, arguing that genuine fraternity is expressed not by facilitating death but by ensuring that every person receives compassionate medical, psychological and spiritual support during the final stage of life.
«More than assistance in dying, our society needs assistance in living,» he said, urging legislators to reconsider the direction of the reform while there is still time.
Archbishop Vincent Jordy of Tours, vice president of the French Bishops’ Conference, likewise encouraged lawmakers to distinguish technological or legislative innovation from authentic human progress. Drawing a parallel with environmental challenges created by industrial development, he argued that some initiatives initially celebrated as advances may reveal unintended social consequences only years later. For that reason, he said, societies should carefully discern whether every proposed reform genuinely serves the common good.
The bishops have consistently maintained that strengthening palliative care offers the most humane response to the suffering experienced by terminally ill patients. In a statement issued before the Senate’s first examination of the bill in January, they argued that when patients receive comprehensive pain management, emotional support and appropriate accompaniment, requests for assisted death often diminish significantly.
Their position reflects a broader principle of Catholic medical ethics: the Church distinguishes between allowing the natural process of dying to unfold—while avoiding disproportionate or burdensome treatments—and intentionally causing death. This distinction has shaped Catholic healthcare worldwide and explains why the Church strongly promotes palliative medicine while opposing euthanasia and assisted suicide.
The French debate therefore extends well beyond legal procedure. It raises profound questions about the responsibilities of physicians, the protection of vulnerable patients, the meaning of autonomy and the kind of solidarity modern societies wish to embody when confronting illness, disability and death.
Although the Senate has once again rejected the proposal, the legislative momentum now appears to favor its supporters. If the National Assembly grants final approval next week, France would join a growing number of countries that permit some form of medically assisted dying.
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