Assisted dying: rejection motion fails, vote nears, streets resist

Context

We had followed every stage of the "aid in dying" bill since its introduction in the National Assembly. June 23, 2026, marks a turning point: the rejection motion failed, the law enters its decisive voting phase, and François Bayrou himself expresses fundamental reservations—while the Netherlands has just carried out its first euthanasia on a child under 12.

The Facts

The rejection motion of the law on aid in dying was defeated in the National Assembly (Le Salon Beige, June 23, 2026). At the same time, over fifty French cities saw simultaneous mobilizations under the slogan "Our dying are not burdens" (Le Salon Beige, June 23, 2026). François Bayrou, outgoing Prime Minister and president of the MoDem, sent a text to the organizing collective of the June 28 demonstration, in which he emphasizes that "the healthcare system's management of death raises a fundamental ethical question about what a just society should do when one of its members suffers" (France Catholique, June 23, 2026). Finally, Le Figaro of June 23 reveals that in the Netherlands, the first euthanasia of a child under 12 was performed: Dutch regulations have allowed this practice since 2024 for minors aged 1 to 12 with incurable diseases.

Doctrinal Analysis

The question posed is precisely the one John Paul II addressed in Evangelium Vitae (no. 65): laws that permit and facilitate euthanasia, he writes, are "radically opposed not only to the good of the individual but to the common good." Aid in dying is not a subjective right: it involves a societal decision about which lives deserve to be accompanied. The phrase "aid in dying" is a euphemism designed to conceal that natural law recognizes in every person a natural death that is accompanied, not provoked. The Catechism is clear: "Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable" (CCC no. 2277).

The Dutch case is a concrete warning. The "slippery slope" is not mere rhetoric: it is a documented legal trajectory, from consenting adults to children under 12, in less than a decade of implementation.

Stakes for the Church and the Faithful

The documentary "Anesthésia" by Damien Boyer, released on June 24, 2026, offers a powerful cultural counterpoint. La Croix describes how it showcases the power of palliative care as a response to suffering—the medicine of non-abandonment, as opposed to the medicine of elimination. This is the path the Church has proposed since Samaritanus Bonus (2020), an instruction from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: to accompany until the end, never to suppress.

Critical Reading and Blind Spots

Bayrou’s reservations are notable but insufficient: he has not announced a vote against the law. The citizen mobilization, real and courageous, remains without a strong institutional response. The French Episcopate must increase its presence in the public debate before the decisive vote. The argument for palliative care, too poorly funded, is systematically dismissed by supporters of the law.

To Reflect and Act

"God is the master of life from its beginning until its end" (CCC no. 2318). Participating in the June 28, 2026, demonstration in Paris, contacting your representative before the vote, supporting a local palliative care service financially: three concrete acts of spiritual and civic resistance against a law that engages the conscience of every Catholic.