Assisted dying: the motion rejected, the final vote approaches - the streets say no

Context

We had been following the progress of the bill on "aid in dying" before the National Assembly. On June 23, 2026, the motion to reject presented by opponents of the text failed. The final vote on the entire text is imminent.

Facts

The motion to reject was defeated by MPs on June 23. At the same time, the Assembly voted to exclude doctors from the lethal act—a contradiction the text does not resolve. François Bayrou, the outgoing Prime Minister, submitted a text to the organizers of the June 28 demonstration, acknowledging that "the healthcare system's management of scheduled death" raises fundamental ethical questions.

In response, over fifty cities in France saw citizen gatherings under the slogan "Our dying are not burdens." The documentary Anesthésia by Damien Boyer, released on June 24, provides a documented counterpoint: palliative care patients say both "I want to die and I want to live," demonstrating that quality support transforms the desire for death.

Doctrinal Analysis

The Church's teaching is unequivocal. Evangelium Vitae by John Paul II (1995) describes euthanasia as an "intrinsically evil act" (EV 65) and states that "nothing and no one can authorize the killing of an innocent human being" (EV 57). The Catechism teaches that "direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable" (CCC 2277). The Declaration Iura et Bona by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1980) recalls that while suffering can be alleviated, it never justifies the deliberate act of causing death.

Stakes for the Church and the Faithful

The Assembly's exclusion of doctors from the lethal act reveals a contradiction the legislator does not resolve: if medicine cannot kill its patients, who will administer death? The implicit answer—non-medical auxiliaries—worsens the danger without resolving it.

The Church is called to strengthen its investment in palliative care and support families accompanying their loved ones. The alternative to administered death requires human and financial resources that the law does not provide.

Critical Reading and Blind Spots

The "slippery slope" is not a metaphor: the Netherlands, which recently performed euthanasia on a child under 12 for the first time, tragically illustrates this. France is embarking on a path whose future stages are already visible among our neighbors.

The debate's blind spot remains the lack of prior investment in palliative care. Legalizing administered death without guaranteeing universal access to palliative care is an ethical and political failure.

To Reflect and Act

"Choose life, that you and your descendants may live" (Dt 30:19). Participating in the June 28 demonstration in Paris, supporting palliative care associations, and challenging elected officials: these are the concrete actions of the moment.