France’s upper house, the French Senate, has dealt a significant blow to the country’s proposed End of Life legislation by striking the bill’s “right to die” provisions, a move that undercuts advocates of the reform, including Emmanuel Macron. While the National Assembly approved the measure in May 2025, senators rewrote key sections during debates held January 21–22, then voted 144–123 to reject Article 4, the article that would have set legal conditions for “medical assistance in dying,” including euthanasia and assisted suicide.
In place of that framework, the Senate favored Article 2, which affirms a right to the “best possible relief from pain,” but explicitly rules out any “voluntary intervention intended to cause death.”
Macron had publicly backed assisted dying earlier in 2025, writing on X on May 13 that when suffering cannot be relieved and hope is gone, people should be able to die with dignity. Reports of the debate point to an unusual alliance of conservative and socialist senators who moved to block the original approach, citing ethical objections and reacting to changes introduced during committee work.
Senators also removed a controversial “obstruction” provision that would have penalized institutions and healthcare workers, including faith-based care homes, if they refused to allow euthanasia on their premises.
Gregor Puppinck, director general of the European Centre for Law and Justice, responded with surprise, saying the vote both reaffirmed palliative care and revealed how unstable the assisted-dying coalition had become. In his view, some lawmakers on the left believed the bill still failed to establish a strong enough right to die, while others considered it unacceptable because it would break a long-standing prohibition on intentionally ending life. He warned of what he called a “foot in the door” pattern, arguing that once a limited form of assisted dying is legalized, eligibility tends to expand over time. He pointed to the Association for the Right to Die with Dignity and to experiences in other countries, claiming that access has broadened in some places to include people with psychological suffering and, in certain cases, minors. He also cited Canada as an example, saying a growing share of deaths there occur through lethal injection.
Puppinck argued that, unable to reconcile fundamentally opposing aims, the Senate shifted the debate onto the more widely agreed ground of palliative care—an area he said France lacks. He claimed only about half of current needs are met, referenced roughly 7,500 beds, and said demand will rise as the population ages. He criticized the level of state funding for palliative care and suggested projected increases would still be inadequate.
The bill is now headed toward a political impasse. Senators are scheduled to vote on the amended text on January 28. That vote could either keep the right-to-die provisions out or reinsert them. If the Senate restores them and the two chambers remain divided, the legislation would move into a Commission Mixte Paritaire, a 14-member joint committee designed to resolve disagreements. If that committee fails to reach a compromise, the National Assembly would have the final say and could revive its earlier version.
Puppinck condemned the earlier draft as dangerously permissive, arguing it could have allowed euthanasia or assisted suicide based on a single doctor’s decision, following an oral request, on a short timeline, and without requiring relatives to be informed.
