French Senate rejects assisted suicide again

France’s Senate has blocked an assisted suicide bill for the second time, dealing another blow to the pro-euthanasia movement.

Senators recently voted against a key part of the bill that would have set the rules for who could seek assisted suicide. Since that section sat at the heart of the bill, the vote stopped the plan from moving forward in the Senate, according to Crux. They also rejected it in January.

The vote came as France continues debating how the law should treat people who face grave illness, pain and the end of life.

The Senate also backed a separate bill to expand access to palliative care. That vote showed a sharp split between two paths: care for the sick or help to end their lives.

The Senate’s move keeps France among the nations that still ban assisted suicide. Several Western nations, including Canada, have legalized physician-assisted suicide, which Canada calls Medical Assistance in Dying. Following legalization in 2016, it has become that nation’s fifth-leading cause of death, behind things such as cancer, heart disease and accidents.

Backers of the French measure said some patients should have the right to seek help dying when they face deep pain or terminal illness. Critics warned the bill could make old, sick or disabled people feel pressure to die so they do not burden their families or the state.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau urged lawmakers not to rush the bill.

Retailleau said the measure goes beyond medical policy and reaches deeper questions about human life and dignity. He argued that lawmakers should not make such a major change without broad public support.

He called the issue a “serious anthropological question” and said, “Such a fundamental text must benefit from a minimum of consensus.”

Retailleau also warned that the bill could change how sick people see their own worth.

“If tomorrow the text were voted on … on the threshold of death, everyone will have to ask themselves if they are not a dead weight, if they are not a burden for society or for their loved ones,” he said.

The fight has drawn strong pushback from Catholic leaders, pro-life groups and some doctors. They have urged France to put more money and focus into end-of-life care instead of creating a legal way for doctors to help people die.

France has spent more than a year debating the issue. President Emmanuel Macron’s government has backed a proposal to allow some form of assisted dying. The National Assembly, France’s lower house, has shown more support for the plan than the Senate.

Supporters may still try again. Under France’s lawmaking process, the bill can go back to the National Assembly.

For now, the Senate has again said no to assisted suicide while saying yes to more care for the sick.

(Image credit: Photo by Chris Karidis on Unsplash)