Key Facts

• The bill allows assisted dying for French adults with a "serious and incurable" life-threatening illness "in an advanced or terminal stage" that leaves them in constant physical or psychological suffering that is unbearable or resistant to treatment.
• Patients would need to "freely manifest his or her intention" to a doctor, who would then make a decision after consultation within 15 days, and after a two-day reflection period, the patient would have to administer a lethal substance themselves or have it done by a doctor or nurse.
• The patient's decision to go ahead with the procedure would have to be verified by the physician on the day, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is set to refer parts of the bill to France's Constitutional Council for examination before it can become law.
• The Constitutional Council will focus on three aspects of the law: the two-day period of reflection given to patients to confirm their request, the ability of patients under legal protection due to impaired judgement to exercise free and informed consent, and the role of health and social care facilities in providing assisted dying services.
• France's President Emmanuel Macron has long backed end-of-life legislation, but his decision to call snap elections two years ago caused a significant delay to the process, and the issue has been highly contentious politically, drawing opposition from the Catholic Church and parts of the medical profession.