Legalization of Euthanasia in France: conscientious objection and the impartiality of judges

By Odile Marcotte
Retired Professor Department of Computer Science, UQAM and a Euthanasia Prevention Coalition board member.

Previous article: France legalized euthanasia. What's next (Link).

Odile Marcotte

After the National Assembly of France adopted the law on “aid in dying,” (Article Link) five people or groups asked the Constitutional Council (the French equivalent of the Supreme Court of Canada) to state whether this law was constitutional.

In its decision published on August 14, 2026, the Constitutional Council did not reject the law or any part of it but asked for three changes (Link to the article in the Le Point magazine) (Link to the decision). 

The first concerned adults under guardianship, that is, those subject to a guardianship arrangement, who, under the initial version of the law, could request and obtain assisted dying without the guardian being consulted. The Council holds that the guardian must be consulted in such cases (see paragraph 121 of the decision). 

It also holds that pharmacists have the right to conscientious objection, that is, the right to refuse to prepare and provide the lethal substances used in the assisted dying procedure (see paragraph 166). 

Finally, the Council holds that institutions themselves (and not just individuals) have the right to refuse to perform assisted suicide or euthanasia if these practices conflict with their mission or purpose (see paragraph 188). An institution’s refusal, however, “can only be invoked if other institutions are able to meet local needs,” which greatly restricts the institutions’ freedom of conscience.

From our point of view this last point is especially interesting, since certain Canadian provinces (notably Quebec) require every hospice to include euthanasia in its “range of care.” The Maison Saint-Raphaël, for example, which is located near several Montreal hospitals, was compelled to do so. The intolerance displayed by the drafters of the first version of the French law, which did not recognize any freedom of conscience for institutions, has been sharply criticized by several authors, who call for genuine pluralism in the field of end-of-life care (Link to an article on conscience rights). 

Quebec and Canada are in great need of this pluralism! Furthermore, before the Constitutional Council issued its ruling, Ms. Nazila Ghanea, a professor at the University of Oxford and the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, reminded the French government and the Constitutional Council of their obligation to respect the freedom of conscience of healthcare professionals and institutions providing end-of-life care (Link to article). Of course Ms. Ghanea could make a similar statement regarding the Canadian situation if someone brought to her attention the legislation of the federal and provincial governments of Canada, particularly the burden on Quebec hospices to provide euthanasia.

Another important issue is the impartiality of the judges or “wise men,” as members of the Constitutional Council are called. In fact, some members of the Council had already expressed their support for the legalization of euthanasia in one way or another, and the Council received recusal requests targeting two of its members. These requests were rejected by the Council for reasons that were heavily criticized by some legal experts (Article on impartiality). The issue of the impartiality of judges also arises in Canada.