France’s National Assembly gives final approval to assisted-dying bill after years of debate - AP News

France's National Assembly gave final approval to a bill permitting adults with incurable illnesses to receive lethal medication, with a vote of 291-241 in the lower house of parliament on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The legislation caps years of debate over end-of-life care and follows three previous readings in the National Assembly.
Despite the approval, the bill will not become law immediately, as it must undergo a review to determine whether it complies with the French Constitution.
President Emmanuel Macron, who first announced the legislation more than three years earlier, welcomed the outcome, stating on X that he committed in 2022 to opening this path with the French people and that the commitment had been fulfilled.
Assisted dying is available to roughly 300 million people worldwide, with euthanasia legal under certain conditions in some countries and assisted suicide permitted in others and in several U.S. states.
The measure comes as France, a traditionally Catholic nation, faces an increasingly aging population and rising numbers of patients requiring care for chronic illnesses.