The National Assembly – France’s lower house – had already approved the bill twice, and could yet pass the bill into law without the Senate’s approval. To avert that outcome, a leading Republican Senator called for the issue to be put to the people in a referendum.

The matter will be considered again, in both houses of the French Parliament, in June and July before a final decision will be made.

The proposed bill would allow someone with a terminal or incurable illness to request lethal medication, usually to administer themselves, although if they are not capable it can be administered by a medical professional, which is euthanasia.

Five conditions must be met: Legal adulthood, free and informed consent, an incurable illness with a life-threatening prognosis, suffering resistant to treatment, and stable residence in France to prevent “death tourism.” Elsewhere when euthanasia and assisted suicide are introduced, the number availing of the procedures almost always increases rapidly and the eligibility grounds expand.