The Bishops’ Conference of France has said that the poorest in society “may be the first to pay the price” after France’s National Assembly approved a law legalising assisted suicide on July 15.

The law, which would permit terminally ill adults to request euthanasia, had been passed by the National Assembly three times but was repeatedly rejected by the Senate. Invoking Article 45, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu bypassed the Senate, allowing the National Assembly to proceed with the bill. A fourth vote then passed in the Assembly.

The Bishops’ Conference of France said in response that society’s “relationship to vulnerability, old age, disability or illness will change”.

In a statement released on the same day the law was passed, the bishops said: “The bond of trust between generations but also between caregivers, patients and their families will be degraded and society's view of fragility will be damaged. The poorest may be the first to pay the price: not wanting to be a burden on their children or grandchildren, the elderly in precarious situations may feel pressured to leave. In addition, the experience of other countries shows that the criteria for access to assisted dying are still tending to broaden, to the detriment of palliative care.”

Last year, supporters of the law in France argued that the introduction of euthanasia could save the country an estimated €1.4 billion per year.

The French bishops said the vote called for a renewed commitment to “testify that another way is possible, that of a faithful presence and attentive accompaniment that alleviates physical or psychological suffering, without ever abandoning anyone”. The bishops expressed their gratitude to those working in care and encouraged Catholic healthcare institutions to “be faithful witnesses of the indispensable ethical attention to respect for fundamental human values, refraining from behaviour that is clearly unlawful from a moral point of view, by virtue of the dignity of every human life”.

The bishops of France had engaged in the long-running debate on euthanasia after French President Emmanuel Macron announced public discussions on the issue. The bishops said they believed that “the political, ideological and probably even economic stakes, disguised by misleading words, got the better of this ambition”.

On July 13, a law legalising assisted suicide for terminally ill adults in Jersey had been granted Royal Assent, making it likely that next year the island will be the first place in the British Isles to offer assisted suicide. Assisted suicide had previously been approved in the Isle of Man, although it is expected to come into effect later.