Assisted dying: Lecornu refers the matter to the Council, the final barrier before promulgation

We had followed, in our recent issues, the parliamentary acceleration of the "right to die with assistance," up to the third rejection by the Senate on July 8, 2026, by a motion adopted with 169 votes. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has just announced, on July 14, that he will refer the matter to the Constitutional Council after the vote scheduled for Wednesday, July 15, in the National Assembly.

Context

The legislative procedure is now up against its ultimate threshold. After the rejection by the Senate and the predictable adoption by the Assembly in the final reading, only the referral to the Council, before promulgation, can suspend the law. The government's move, provided for in Article 61, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, activates an a priori control of the text: the Council then has one month to rule.

The Facts

La Croix reports, on July 14, the announcement by the Prime Minister. This is a referral by the head of the government, hitherto rarely exercised by an executive that has itself defended the text. The Senate, through the rejection of July 8 (motion adopted with 169 votes against), had nevertheless drawn the red line: an attack on the principle of the dignity of the human person, the erasure of the conscience clause for caregivers, and the weakening of that of denominational institutions. The Little Sisters of the Poor have, since the Assembly's vote on June 30, publicly stated that they would rather close than participate.

Doctrinal Analysis

The magisterium is constant. The Catechism teaches that direct euthanasia "consists in putting an end to the life of disabled, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable" (CCC no. 2277). Saint John Paul II set the solemn teaching in Evangelium vitae: euthanasia is "a grave violation of the law of God, as a deliberate, morally unacceptable murder of a human person" (EV no. 65). The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in Samaritanus bonus (2020), recalled the obligation of palliative care and the illicit nature of any formal cooperation in the lethal act. The European Court of Human Rights, in Lambert v. France (2015), had emphasized the national margin of appreciation without ever establishing a right to die.

Stakes for the Church and the Faithful

Three lines of defense remain. The individual conscience clause, seriously weakened in the expected implementing decrees. The collective conscience clause of Catholic institutions, refused by the majority despite the warnings of the CEF. Finally, the admission to communion of Catholic deputies who voted in favor, on which several French bishops have recalled the canonical discipline of canon 915.

Critical Reading and Blind Spots

The referral does not prejudge anything. The Council may partially censor (procedure, scope of the offense of obstruction, perimeter of eligible persons) without invalidating the logic of the text. The real battle, if the law passes, will shift to the decrees, the QPC appeals, the ordinary jurisprudence. The battle is not won by the mere filing of the appeal; it begins there.

To Ponder and Act

Prayer for the deputies who are still hesitating, a few hours before the vote. Vigilance over the implementing decrees that will specify the conscience clause. And concrete support for the Little Sisters of the Poor, who today bear an exemplary part of Christian resistance to the culture of death.