France’s National Assembly passed the measure in a 291-241 vote on Wednesday after years of debate.
Under the bill, patients would be permitted to receive lethal medication at their request if they are French or living in France on a “stable and regular basis,” above the age of 18, able to express their free and informed choice, experiencing pain that is unbearable or resistant to treatment, and suffering from an incurable, life-threatening illness in an advanced stage. They would then be able to self-administer the substance, or, in cases in which they are physically unable to take the medication themselves, a doctor would be permitted to administer it.
“In 2022, I had made the commitment to open this path with the French people. With gravity, with humility, and in full respect for our democracy, that commitment has been honored,” Macron wrote on Wednesday, announcing the bill’s adoption. “On this issue as intimate as it is grave, which touches on life, suffering, and dignity, only one approach was possible: taking the time for listening, dialogue, and debate.”
If the bill is enacted, France will join several other countries around the world that have opted to legalize assisted dying, a term that encompasses both medically assisted suicide, which involves the patient taking lethal medication that was prescribed to them, and euthanasia, which involves a health care professional administering a lethal substance for a patient at their request.
Assisted dying legislation is also currently being debated in the United Kingdom, where in England and Wales a bill on the matter will be taken up by parliament in September after expiring at the end of its last session.
Though assisted dying is still not permitted in most of the U.S., thirteen states and Washington, D.C., have legalized it in recent years.
Lawmakers in a number of other states have since looked to Oregon’s law as a blueprint, and a dozen more have opted to legalize assisted dying in some form in the ensuing decades.
Canada
Assisted dying became legal in Canada in 2016 with the passage of the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) law following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down prohibitions on the practice.
Assisted dying is legal in all six states in Australia and in the Australian Capital Territory. It is illegal in the country’s Northern Territory.
New Zealand
Assisted dying is allowed in New Zealand under the End of Life Choice Act of 2019, which was approved by voters in 2020 and took effect on November 7, 2021.
The Netherlands
Assisted suicide and euthanasia are both allowed in the Netherlands. The law permitting the practices took effect in April 2002. The country is one of very few that allows for the assisted deaths of some minors.
A decade later, in 2014, it amended the law to permit minors to request and receive euthanasia under certain circumstances.
Luxembourg
Grand Duke Henri refused to sign the bill over moral objections after lawmakers passed it the year prior. But the parliament amended the country’s constitution to remove a clause that required his signature to approve laws, enabling the legislation to be enacted.
Euthanasia remains illegal in Italy.
Germany
Spain passed a law in March 2021 allowing assisted suicide and euthanasia, making it the fourth country in Europe to allow euthanasia, along with Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
Portugal
Assisted suicide became legal in Austria in 2022. Euthanasia remains illegal.
Colombia
Colombia is also among the small number of countries that allow assisted dying for minors in some cases.
Uruguay
Uruguay enacted a law decriminalizing euthanasia in October 2025. Assisted suicide was not permitted under the law, however.
Cuba
The law did not expressly allow for assisted suicide.
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