France: Aid in Dying & the Rights of People with Disabilities

On 26 August 2025, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities called on the French Government to suspend parliamentary proceedings on the assisted dying bill and issued several recommendations. Firstly, to protect persons with disabilities by taking account of their specific vulnerabilities; secondly, to remove certain provisions it described as “ableist”, and thirdly, to strengthen support and care services for people with disabilities. The Committee was established under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which France ratified in 2010. Like all international treaties, the Convention has “authority superior to that of Acts of Parliament” under Article 55 of the French Constitution.

Despite the Committee’s authority, the French Government did not respond to its recommendations. It made assisted dying one of its priorities, culminating in the bill’s final adoption by the National Assembly on 15 July 2026. Following review by the Constitutional Council, the law was promulgated by the President of the Republic on 18 August 2026. Beyond the legal issue, the decision to disregard concerns about the situation of people with disabilities raises a moral question. By failing to provide them with sufficient protection against the exploitation of vulnerability, France has risked drifting towards a new form of eugenics.

As the implementing decrees are being prepared by the French Government, a panel discussion at the United Nations Human Rights Council will bring together the following speakers:

• Louis Bouffard, co-chair of the association Les Éligibles et leurs Aidants and author of a personal account of life with disability, Un cœur joyeux. Journal de bord (Mame, 2024);
• Claire Clauss, mother and legal guardian of a 40-year-old woman who has lived with profound multiple disabilities since birth and resides in a health and social care facility;
• Dominique Reynié, Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Paris and Director General of the
• Ximena Suarez, Human Rights Officer, member of the Secretariat of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Nicolas Bauer, Ph.D., Research Fellow at the European Centre for Law and Justice: