Protesters attend a rally against euthanasia and assisted dying near the French National Assembly in Paris on Wednesday. DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP
The lower house of the French parliament, the National Assembly, has given its final approval to a bill that will create a legal right to assisted death for adults with incurable diseases, potentially bringing an end to years of debate over the issue.
The law was passed in the Assembly last year, only to be rejected by the upper house, the Senate, but under a constitutional clause, the government allowed the Assembly to have the final say without the need for Senate approval. This time the bill was passed by a margin of 291 votes to 241.
However, that does not mean that this is the end of the journey described by the legislation's author, Olivier Falorni, as being like "a marathon with hurdles".
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu will ask France's highest constitutional authority, the Constitutional Council, to take a closer look at the details of the legislation, as he expressed concern over the lack of a proper debate in the Assembly, saying that this meant the draft proposals fell short of "meeting both the aspirations of its proponents and the concerns of those worried about its implementation".
