Macron Promulgates New End‑of‑Life Law

Overview

• The law was signed by President Emmanuel Macron and will be published in the Journal officiel, which makes the statute legally in force.
• It creates a conditional right to assistance in dying for qualifying adults and sets a physician‑led procedure to determine eligibility based on residency, a grave incurable condition, unbearable physical suffering, and the ability to make an informed choice.
• The text allows a patient to self‑administer a prescribed lethal product in the presence of a caregiver and permits a caregiver to perform the act only when the patient cannot physically do so.
• The Constitutional Council kept the law intact but issued three targeted reservations that require rules on decision‑making for legally protected adults, a pharmacists’ conscience clause, and the ability of private establishments to refuse participation.
• Implementation questions now dominate coverage, with disputes over how hospitals and pharmacies will apply conscience protections, how safeguards for 'majeurs protégés' will work in practice, and how the measure will affect access compared with countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium.