France's National Assembly adopts long-debated bill legalizing end-of-life options

France’s lower house of parliament adopted a bill Tuesday to allow adults with incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow across Europe for legal end-of-life options.

PARIS — France’s lower house of parliament adopted a bill Tuesday to allow adults with incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow across Europe for legal end-of-life options.

The National Assembly vote is a key step on the long-debated issue, though others remain before the bill can become law.

“I’m thinking of all the patients and their loved ones that I’ve met over more than a decade. Many are no longer here, and they always told me: Keep fighting,” said Olivier Falorni, the bill’s general rapporteur, amid applause from fellow lawmakers.

The proposed measure on lethal medication defines assisted dying as allowing use under certain conditions so that people may take it themselves. Only those whose physical condition does not allow them to do it alone would be able to get help from a doctor or a nurse.

The bill, which received 305 votes in favor and 199 against, will be sent to the Senate, where the conservative majority could seek to amend it. A definitive vote on the measure could take months to be scheduled amid France’s long and complex process. The National Assembly has final say over the Senate.