French President Emmanuel Macron has instructed the French government to draw up a draft bill for “end-of-life care” before the end of the summer after a 184-person board voted 76% in favor of some form of euthanasia for those who want it under certain conditions. Macron said, “Our system of support for the end of life remains ill-adapted to contemporary requirements.” Assisted dying, when patients self-administer means of ending their own life, or voluntary euthanasia, when a doctor plays an active role by the patient’s request in ending their life, have both been legal in various European countries. Assisted dying is legal in Switzerland and euthanasia is legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Spain. The French council of doctors opposes euthanasia but supports assisted dying.
