The French National Assembly has passed a landmark bill legalizing medically assisted suicide and euthanasia, igniting a fierce ethical debate and drawing sharp condemnation from the country’s Catholic bishops, who warn that the law undermines the sanctity of life and could endanger society’s most vulnerable.
Newsroom (May 31, 2025, 06:15, Gaudium Press) The amended legislation, approved on May 27 by a vote of 305 to 199, establishes a legal framework for terminally ill patients to request lethal medication under strict conditions. While the bill’s provisions on palliative care were widely supported, its core measure—creating a “right to assistance in dying”—has been met with resistance from religious leaders, medical professionals, and ethicists.
Church Denounces “Grave Threat to Human Dignity”
The French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) swiftly condemned the decision, calling it “infinitely grave” and warning that the law could lead to broader abuses. In a statement, the bishops criticized the euphemistic language of “assistance in dying,” arguing that it obscures the reality of state-sanctioned euthanasia.
“This text, among the most permissive in the world, would threaten the most fragile and call into question the respect due to all human life,” the bishops declared. They vowed to continue opposing the bill as it moves to the Senate, where debate is expected later this year.
Drawing on the daily experience of more than 800 hospital chaplains, 1,500 volunteers, 5,000 home and nursing home visitors, and countless priests, deacons, consecrated persons, and laypeople involved in pastoral care across France, the bishops insisted that the Church has both the authority and the responsibility to speak on behalf of the dying.
Concerns Over Coercion and Slippery Slope
Bishop Pierre-Antoine Bozo of Limoges expressed alarm over a new legal offense—hindering access to assisted dying—which critics fear could silence caregivers, including priests and chaplains, who oppose euthanasia on moral grounds.
“We must remain free to accompany the suffering out of love and charity, without fear of legal repression,” Bozo said in an interview with RCF radio.
The bishops also warned of potential expansions of the law, such as extending euthanasia to minors or patients with dementia—a scenario already seen in countries like Belgium and the Netherlands.
A Battle Over Language and Ethics
In a last-minute appeal before the vote, bishops from the Île-de-France region sent an open letter to lawmakers, accusing the bill of distorting language and morality.
“How can we call ‘natural’ a death that is deliberately induced?” they wrote. “How can we speak of a ‘right to die’ when death is already inevitable?”
The Church has joined forces with medical and legal experts who argue that France’s existing 2016 Claeys-Leonetti law—which permits deep sedation but prohibits active euthanasia—already provides a compassionate alternative.
What Comes Next?
With the Senate set to review the bill in the fall, the bishops pledged to continue their advocacy, urging greater investment in palliative care instead of what they call “the death given as a form of care.”
As France moves toward full implementation by 2027, the debate over euthanasia is far from over—with the Church and its allies determined to defend what they see as the inviolable dignity of human life.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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