May 28 (UPI) -- Lawmakers in France voted to legalize assisted dying for some terminally ill residents in the final stages of life and in "constant physical or psychological suffering," but they also backed a parallel piece of legislation making palliative care a legal right.
Members of Parliament in the lower house, the National Assembly, voted 305-199 in favor Monday after two weeks of debate, clearing the way for the bill to go the Senate before returning to MPs for a second reading -- but it is unlikely to become law before 2027.
Under the proposed law, patients would have to state their wish to die by lethal injection of their own free will, and have mental capacity to do so, with a two-day cooling-off period at the end of which the person confirms their decision.
Patients, who must be citizens or legal residents over the age of 18, would need to administer the lethal medication themselves, but in cases where the person is physically incapable, a medical professional would be permitted to do it.
If it becomes law, France will become the eighth country in the 27-member European Union to legalize the practice. Across the English Channel, England and Scotland are also midway through separate legislative processes for assisted dying bills.
