French parliament debates assisted suicide for the third time

On Monday, the French National Assembly – the country’s lower house – began a third reading of a bill on assisted suicide after it was previously rejected twice by the French Senate. 

There have been over 1,800 amendments tabled to the text that started making its way through parliament over two years ago. The French National Assembly has given two positive readings of the bill but it has been rejected twice by the Senate.

The first order of business will likely deal with three amendments that were introduced to the bill by the social affairs committee, all of which carry some degree of controversy.

Danielle Simonnet, a left-wing French politician, has proposed an amendment accepted by the committee that would allow patients to freely choose between administering the lethal substance themselves or having a healthcare professional assist them. 

If this amendment were to stand, which is not a given as it contradicts other parts of the bill, there is a chance it would cause more centrist members of parliament to vote against the bill. Previously healthcare professionals were only to assist the administration of the lethal substance in cases where the patient is physically incapable of doing it themselves.