Critics warn that vulnerable people may feel pressured to end their lives

France's lower house of parliament has approved a controversial bill to legalize assisted dying for adults with terminal illnesses, amid deep divisions in a country with strong Catholic traditions.

The National Assembly voted 305 to 199 in favor of the measure, which is backed by President Emmanuel Macron. The bill now moves to the Senate and will return to the lower house for a second reading. Supporters hope it will become law by 2027.

France currently allows what is called passive euthanasia - such as withdrawing life support - and deep sedation before death.

Under the bill, patients could request lethal medication, which they would take themselves, or if physically unable, have administered by a doctor or nurse. They must be over 18, hold French citizenship or residency, and be suffering from an irreversible, advanced, or terminal illness causing constant, untreatable pain. People with severe psychiatric conditions or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's would not qualify.

A medical team would assess each case. After a period of reflection, the patient could receive the drug at home, in a care home, or medical facility.

The government described the bill as "an ethical response to the need to support the sick and the suffering," calling it "neither a new right nor a freedom... but a balance between respect and personal autonomy." Macron hailed the vote as "an important step" toward a more humane approach to end-of-life care.

A separate bill establishing a right to palliative care passed unopposed.

France's proposal would be more restrictive than laws in countries such as Belgium or the Netherlands, where euthanasia - in which doctors give a lethal injection at the patient's request - has been legal since 2002 and extended to minors. Similar laws exist in Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg, Canada, Australia, and Colombia. Medically assisted suicide, where patients take prescribed lethal medication themselves, is legal in Switzerland and several US states.

Right-to-die campaigners have welcomed the law, though describing it as relatively modest in scope. "We've been waiting for this for decades," said Stephane Gemmani of the ADMD association.

Critics warn the definitions are too broad, potentially allowing assisted dying for patients who could live for years. Some fear the bill could undermine medical ethics, erode care standards, and expose vulnerable people to subtle pressure to die.

READ MORE: More Canadians choosing medically assisted death

"It would be like a loaded pistol left on my bedside table," a 44-year-old woman with Parkinson's disease told a protest outside parliament, according to the BBC.

This month, France's religious leaders issued a joint statement denouncing the "dangers" of an "anthropological rupture." Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau wrote on X this week that it is "not a bill of fraternity but a bill of abandonment."

(RT.com)