Assisted dying: referendum blocked, Assembly in voting week

Verified Facts

On June 17, 2026, the Constitutional Council rejected the shared initiative referendum (RIP) proposal submitted by nearly 200 right-wing and far-right parliamentarians. The Council ruled that ethical questions regarding end-of-life issues do not fall within the constitutional scope of the RIP.

Senator Francis Szpiner, the initiator of the RIP, had hoped for "a true democratic debate" on the subject, by "giving the French people the opportunity to speak directly." This avenue is now closed.

On June 22, the National Assembly opened the third reading of the bill on assisted dying in a public session. Nearly 1,800 amendments remain to be debated over five days. The vote is scheduled for June 30.

Analysis of Underlying Issues

The Constitutional Council's decision is not an endorsement of the law's substance. It merely states that the subject is not "constitutional" within the meaning of the RIP. This does not resolve the core issue. It closes a door.

The last door. The referendum was the final procedure capable of blocking the bill before the final vote. With its rejection, no further preventive recourse is available. Parliament will vote. The law will pass or fail based solely on the parliamentary vote.

1,800 amendments in five days: that is the figure to remember. Supporters and opponents continue to clash over key points: the criterion of "engaged vital prognosis," the role of the doctor, the conscience clause. Each amendment is a final attempt to limit or expand the text.

Doctrinal Insight

John Paul II's Evangelium Vitae (1995) is clear: "Voluntarily killing an innocent human being is always and in every case morally evil" (n. 57). The proposed law precisely organizes this, regardless of the terminology used.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church leaves no doubt: "An act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person" (CCC 2277).

On June 20 in Pavia, Leo XIV declared: "Medicine can never become the servant of programmed death." This is not an opinion. It is a reminder of the very meaning of the medical vocation.

Thoughts for the Reader

8 days until the vote. The great national novena of prayer, launched in parishes and religious communities, covers exactly the week of the vote.

What to do? Pray. Alert. And clearly name what is happening. A law that authorizes doctors to actively cause the death of patients is not "assisted dying." It is euthanasia. Clarity of words is an act of truth.

• June 17, 2026: Constitutional Council rejects the RIP
• June 22, 2026: Start of the third reading in the National Assembly
• June 30, 2026: Scheduled vote on the bill [/ENCADRE]

• 200 parliamentarians: Signatories of the RIP proposal
• 1,800 amendments: Remaining to be debated in five days [/ENCADRE]