France’s Macron announces Bill for assisted dying

French President Macron introduces bill for assisted dying in France, aiming to legalize euthanasia for terminally ill patients.

French President Emmanuel Macron will present a Bill on assisted dying to go before parliament in May, he said in an interview published by French media on March 10.

The move could make France the next European country to legalise euthanasia for the terminally ill, following a long consultation with a committee of French citizens on "active assistance to dying".

Only adults with full control of their judgement, suffering an incurable and life-threatening illness in the short to medium term and whose pain cannot be relieved will be able to "ask to be helped to die", Mr. Macron told the La Croix and Liberation newspapers.

The change is necessary "because there are situations you cannot humanely accept", Mr. Macron said. The goal was "to reconcile an individual's autonomy with the nation's solidarity.

"With this Bill, we are facing up to death," he said.

But the highly controversial move is likely to provoke stiff opposition, and even though the Bill would be presented before the European Parliament elections in June, its passage is unlikely before 2025.

While opinion polls suggest a majority of French favour right-to-die legislation, religious leaders in the traditionally Catholic country as well as many health workers oppose it.