France's national evangelical alliance has warned that vulnerable people will feel pressured to choose assisted dying following the National Assembly's approval of an assisted dying bill.
Lawmakers voted 291 to 241 on July 15 to pass the bill, which France's upper Senate had rejected three times.
The law gives French adults with late-stage, incurable and untreatable illnesses a path to request assistance in dying.
Nancy Lefevre, legal director of the Conseil National des Évangéliques de France (CNEF), said French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and Senate President Gérard Larcher have referred the bill to the Constitutional Council for a constitutional review, citing concerns about several provisions in the text.
Some candidates in next year's presidential race have called for a referendum on the issue if elected, Lefevre added.
"One issue pertains to freedom of conscience," Lefevre told Christian Daily International. "The Bill contains provision on clause of conscience; however the mechanism does apply only to individuals and not to organisations, therefore there is great uncertainty about the possibility for religious medical establishments to decide not to offer and follow the 'assisted dying' procedure for their patients.
"As Christians, we wish to bring hope and to provide alternative solutions to assisted suicide as palliative care and strong family and church support in trying times can enable another path to end life in a peaceful and respectful way."
After the vote, CNEF circulated a press release titled "End of life: an ethical rupture."
"The CNEF deplores an ethical break and calls for a strengthened fraternity around the most vulnerable," the statement read.
The group expressed "deep sadness and serious concern in the face of this major ethical and anthropological turning point for our country."
CNEF said it had "tirelessly mobilized" over the past three years on the issue, reiterating a conviction rooted in the gospel: that every human life possesses intrinsic and absolute value, from beginning to natural end.
"The dignity of a sick or elderly person does not depend on their degree of physical autonomy, but on the loving, respectful, and protective gaze that society bestows upon them until their last breath," CNEF said.
"By enshrining administered death in our law, the prohibition against taking a life, a cornerstone of our shared life, is weakened."
CNEF also pushed back on the use of the concept of "fraternity" in the bill.
"True fraternity does not consist of hastening the death of those who suffer, but of never abandoning them," the alliance stated. "The CNEF fears the indirect moral pressure now exerted on the most vulnerable, who may perceive themselves as a burden on their loved ones or on national solidarity."
In response, CNEF called for equitable, rapid and effective development of palliative care, noting that this need remains inaccessible in many areas, which it described as a social injustice.
"We express our full support and gratitude to healthcare workers, particularly evangelical healthcare professionals, who are now on the front lines facing unprecedented ethical dilemmas," CNEF said. "The CNEF demands the absolute and uncompromising protection of their right to conscientious objection."
The alliance called on evangelical Protestant churches in France to "redouble their efforts in providing support, visits, and comfort," saying local communities are "called to be witnesses of hope, presence, and concrete solidarity with the most vulnerable."
Grégor Puppinck, director of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ), had previously raised concerns about the power a single doctor would hold over end-of-life decisions, speaking on the French podcast and media platform Tocsin.
"There is no requirement for formalism regarding the expression of this request. So no proof is necessary—no witnesses, no written documents," Puppinck said. "Only the doctor, who afterward can just say, 'Yes, yes, in fact, this person asked to die.'"
