RN Amendment That Bars Doctors From Euthanasia Upends Final Weeks of Assembly Debate

Overview

• An unexpected amendment from the Rassemblement National that would bar physicians from administering the lethal substance was adopted in a sparsely attended session on June 23 and has reopened the debate.
• The bill’s rapporteur and supporters immediately protested the vote and parliamentary leaders announced a second deliberation that must reconsider the change before the Assembly’s final vote on June 30.
• Opponents held protests in Paris this week with patients, caregivers and health professionals urging deputies to reject the law and to invest in palliative and social care instead.
• About 1,800 amendments have been filed this week and negotiators are now courting roughly 100 undecided deputies whose votes could flip the outcome.
• RN deputies framed the move as a symbolic defence of the Hippocratic oath, while supporters warn that failure to pass the law this summer would push the fight into the presidential campaign and reshape political stakes.