Is euthanasia legal in France?
Passive only
Active euthanasia is illegal, but sedation until death is permitted for terminal patients.
France is one of 11 countries classified “Passive only” for euthanasia — 29% of the 38 with data. (Also searched as assisted dying.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Legality of euthanasia
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Luxembourg
- Euthanasia legal Euthanasia is legal in Luxembourg following the passage of a bill in 2009.
- Switzerland
- Assisted dying only Physician-assisted suicide is legal if the motive is not selfish, while active euthanasia is not explicitly legalized.
- Belgium
- Euthanasia legal Euthanasia has been legal in Belgium since 2002, with cases occurring regularly since then.
- Netherlands
- Euthanasia legal Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are legal in the Netherlands since 2001.
- Germany
- Assisted dying only Active euthanasia is illegal, but assisted suicide is legal following a 2020 court ruling.
- Italy
- Passive only Active euthanasia is illegal, but passive euthanasia is legal following a 2019 court ruling.
Other laws in France
- Abortion
- Legal on request
- Suicide Laws
- Not a crime
- FGM Laws
- No specific ban
- Surrogacy
- Banned
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.