Macron's assisted dying bill fails to pass in Senate

The French Senate rejected a bill on assisted suicide that had previously gained broad support in the National Assembly. The vote in the upper house was 181 to 122 against the bill, which had undergone several amendments by right-wing and centrist lawmakers.

According to Le Monde, its supporters said the final text had been watered down so much that it no longer had its original meaning. Socialist senators said the debate had turned into an ideological dispute and lost its humanistic dimension.

President Emmanuel Macron considers the law to be a key social shift and has not ruled out a referendum if he encounters further political resistance. The law is set to return to the lower house next month, which can approve it even without the Senate's consent.

France could thus join countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada, where assisted death is legal.

The legislation would represent the biggest social change since the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2012.

(pir)