Bishop of France denounces that euthanasia contradicts an immemorial law: you shall not kill

The Bishop of Chartres (France), Bishop Philippe Christory, led a carta to the senators of Eure-et-Loir, a region belonging to his diocese, in which he denounces that assisted suicide and euthanasia contradict “an immemorial law: you shall not kill.”

The letter from the French prelate comes at a decisive moment, since the “end of life” bill is under parliamentary review after years of political pressure to legalize euthanasia in the country.

This bill, presented last May, introduces the concept of “assistance in dying”, a term that covers both euthanasia – where a third party directly administers the lethal substance – and assisted suicide, in which the patient himself carries out the final act. The promoters describe it as “a natural death.”

Although the procedure must be subject to a medical evaluation, the legislative proposal also contemplates that adults who suffer from a serious and incurable condition that causes physical or psychological suffering considered unbearable could be eligible.

Members of Parliament also aprobaron on May 24 of this year the creation of a crime for hindering access to “assistance in dying”, which would criminalize any attempt to prevent the act itself or access to information about it.

In this context, Bishop Christory appealed to the right to conscientious objection of those doctors who “cannot contemplate the possibility of committing a lethal act”, since it would go against their conscience “and the very purpose of their profession, which is to care for and support patients in their life project, even if it is approaching its physical end.”

The bishop denounced that the French Parliament’s lack of support for these professionals is “unacceptable”, since “freedom of conscience must never be suppressed or limited; it is a fundamental right of every person.”

After lamenting the high suicide rate in France—in the year 2023 they registered more than 8,000 suicides—, Bishop Christory recalled that the essence of an advanced civilization “is to promote life and support that of those who suffer,” and specified that those who ask to end their lives often lack support.

“The end of life can be a decisive moment for reconsideration, reconciliation and exchange with loved ones,” he added. At the end of his letter, he urged the senators to “promote a plan of life, not a plan of death that stains our culture.”