LIVE. End of life: Follow the decisive vote by MPs on assisted dying.

Recognizing the differences within her Horizons group, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, Horizons MP for Seine-Maritime, announced that she would vote for the text opening a "right to assisted dying." According to her, this text of law "does not sanctify an ideology, does not open up a freedom without safeguards" but traces a "marked, demanding, thoughtful path." "We have legislated with a trembling hand," she declared, quoting Montesquieu.

The former health minister, who was in charge of the end-of-life file, has long been committed to legalizing assisted suicide with the exception of euthanasia. This "exception" was essential for her. However, during her time in committee at the beginning of May, the two possibilities were put on the same level. But during the session, self-administration of the lethal substance became the rule again – and administration by a caregiver, the exception. Without this "rebalancing," she would have abstained, she confided to La Croix .

Several groups, particularly those in the Macronist bloc (Together for the Republic, The Democrats, and Horizons), are not unanimous on the sensitive issue of assisted dying. This is why they have chosen to give the floor to two speakers.

Among the Macronists, Nicole Dubré-Chirat will embody a more liberal line than Vincent Ledoux. Within the National Rally, Christophe Bentz will represent the fiercest opponents of the law, while Théo Bernhardt, who will speak next, had said he was in favor of it, at least at the beginning of the examination of the text.

On the other hand, several groups chose to give the floor to speakers embodying similar approaches to the issue: two convinced of the "right to assisted dying" for LFI (René Pilato and Élise Leboucher) as well as for the socialists (Marie-Noëlle Battistel and Stéphane Delautrette), and two determined opponents - and very present in the debates - for the Republican Right (Patrick Hetzel and Philippe Juvin).

Philippe Vigier, a Modem MP, sat on the special committee devoted to the bill on end-of-life. The first speaker to speak, the representative from Eure-et-Loir assured that all MPs in his group would vote for the bill on palliative care, and " a large majority would vote for the right to die," even though "some would not vote, and others would abstain."

The MP assured that this vote will be made with " the sick" in mind, some of whom are in "a complete impasse and who were waiting for a new right to be offered to them." The text is "balanced and solid," he assured.

Speeches begin in the chamber. Seventeen deputies speak before the two formal votes. They each have ten minutes.

The rapporteurs for both texts—Annie Vidal (Renaissance) for the text on palliative care and Olivier Falorni (MoDem affiliate) for the one on assisted dying—will not speak until after the vote. They are expected to conclude the session, which is expected to include Health Minister Catherine Vautrin, who was present throughout the parliamentary review.

La Croix has accessed a document produced by the independent scientific body on the concepts of "medium-term life-threatening prognosis" and "advanced phase" of an illness. It offers a nuanced opinion on the criteria for access to assisted dying.

“I am not at the end of life, I am in life!” While it is often invoked by MPs in favour of assisted dying during debates on the end of life, five patients suffering from Charcot's disease spoke to La Croix l'Hebdo .

Bruno Retailleau, the Conference of Religious Leaders in France, and certain philosophers have warned of "the dangers of an anthropological rupture" if assisted dying were legalized. But what does this concept encompass, where does it come from, and why is it being used?

The formal vote will be preceded by a general discussion during which each of the eleven groups represented in the National Assembly will be able to explain their intentions, with each parliamentarian having the freedom to vote. Speakers from each group will have 10 minutes to speak, but some groups, where positions on assisted dying may differ, may have two speakers.

Seventeen MPs will take turns speaking at the podium. MPs Yannick Monnet (PCF), Christophe Bentz (RN), and Nicole Dubré-Chirat (Renaissance) will be among the speakers. Having participated assiduously in the debates surrounding the texts, they recounted to La Croix the tense week in Parliament.

If the text were to be definitively adopted, France would become the eighth European country to legalize assisted dying. Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands... Several countries already authorize euthanasia or assisted suicide. Where does the French text, presented as "the most permissive in the world" by some opponents, stand?

Since access conditions, operating procedures, and controls vary greatly from one country to another, the comparison exercise is difficult. One consequence remains predictable: each year, requests for death increase in states that have chosen this route.

The proposed law on end-of-life care, particularly the section on assisted dying, has been a source of division in the National Assembly and is also dividing society. Suffering loved ones, anthropological rupture, "pressure" ... Our readers shared with us their experiences, doubts, and concerns about "a historic choice."

The French Catholic Church has firmly expressed its opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide, warning in particular of "the dangers of a rupture with anthropology," but what about other faiths?

Eleven bishops from the Île-de-France region, including Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris, sent an open letter to the deputies and senators of the Île-de-France region on Monday, protesting the proposed law on assisted dying. They are particularly concerned about an "anthropological rupture that would create the conditions for a crime against dignity, against fraternity, and against life" and say they are ready to act.

On this subject of the end of life, which transcends political divisions and touches on deeply held beliefs, each parliamentary group has granted its members the freedom to vote.

When the texts were examined, the left emerged overwhelmingly in support of the text on assisted dying, the right and the far right opposed, and the Macronist bloc divided. Minority positions were also expressed within each group.

The right and the far right are not the only critics of assisted dying. On the other side of the political spectrum, some voices are warning of the risks of "social eugenics" that could harm the most vulnerable.

The formal vote on the issue of assisted dying is expected to be more uncertain than that on palliative care, as this subject divides opinion.

Conditions of access, examination of the application, conscience clause, obstruction offense... La Croix deciphers for you the medical, legal and ethical issues of the text in six key questions.

During the examination of the text on assisted dying, the government adopted an amendment making self-administration of the lethal substance the rule, and administration by a doctor or nurse the exception, when the patient "is not physically able to do so" .

This provision was a "breaking point in the balance of the text" for some deputies, such as the former Minister of Health Agnès Firmin Le Bodo (Horizons).

For the two texts on assisted dying and palliative care, the deputies remained relatively close to the version proposed for their examination.

They approved the creation of a "right to assisted death," which will be open to people suffering from "a serious and incurable condition" that is "life-threatening, in an advanced stage" or "terminal," and who present "constant physical or psychological suffering." This key article was adopted last Saturday by 75 votes to 41, which does not prejudge the outcome of today's vote.

Regarding the proposed law on palliative care, the deputies approved the creation of an "enforceable right" to this care.

This first reading vote in the National Assembly represents a decisive step in the tortuous journey of these texts. Emmanuel Macron had first entrusted a citizens' convention to consider the subject in 2022, then unveiled the outlines of a draft law in March 2024. Its examination was interrupted by the dissolution of the National Assembly.

After the vote by the deputies, the two current texts will continue their journey in the Senate in the autumn .

The two texts will be put to the vote successively, meaning that one can be adopted at first reading without the other. This unusual procedure results from Prime Minister François Bayrou's desire to split the initial draft —which had been examined in June until the dissolution—into two separate parts.

This decision had provoked strong criticism from supporters of a change in the law. They secured a vote on both texts on the same day, even though they had been examined over the previous two weeks.

After two weeks of debate, the formal vote on the two bills on end-of-life care will take place late Tuesday afternoon, May 27. MPs will vote on two texts: the first on palliative care and the second on the "right to assisted dying," which proposes legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia.

On Saturday, they completed their examination of these two texts, presented by Annie Vidal (Renaissance) and Olivier Falorni (MoDem group), which represent one of the biggest social reforms in a decade.

Welcome to this Live dedicated to the vote on the two bills on the end of life.