Thousands Gather in Paris to Protest Euthanasia and Abortion Legislation | Shalom World News
On Sunday, January 18, hundreds of demonstrators filled the streets of Paris for the annual March for Life, raising their voices against France’s abortion and assisted dying laws. With placards held high, they urged lawmakers to defend the sanctity of life as the nation braced for heated debates over amendments to the end-of-life bill. The demonstration unfolded against a backdrop of national soul-searching about falling birth rates, abortion rights, and the future of medical assistance in dying. In a powerful public appeal, French Catholic bishops called on lawmakers to reject the proposed legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide, warning that such a move would endanger society’s most vulnerable and erode the respect owed to every human being. The bill, already passed by the National Assembly in May 2025 and soon to be debated by the Senate, would grant gravely ill adults a new “right to die.” It would allow any French resident over 18 with a serious, incurable, and life-threatening condition to seek medical help to end their life. The bishops expressed deep compassion for those enduring end-of-life suffering, acknowledging the pain, fear of dependence, and loneliness that can accompany it. Yet, they insisted that these real fears demand human, medical, and social support—not laws that permit intentional death. They cautioned that weaving euthanasia into medical care would blur ethical lines and reshape the very foundation of society by presenting assisted death as a form of treatment.