Evangelical Christians in Europe are expressing heightened concerns over the sanctity of human life as assisted suicide was legalized in France this week while the U.K. Parliament and the Isle of Man consider similar measures.
France
France’s National Assembly approved a bill legalizing assisted dying on July 15. Lawmakers voted 291 to 241 to pass the bill that grants terminally ill adults the legal right to end their lives with medical assistance under certain conditions. The bill had been rejected by France’s upper Senate three times before its eventual passage.
After the vote, the Conseil National des Évangéliques de France (CNEF) released a statement called “End of life: an ethical rupture” that expressed “deep sadness and serious concern in the face of this major ethical and anthropological turning point for our country.”
“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.
CNEF warned that “By enshrining administered death in our law, the prohibition against taking a life, a cornerstone of our shared life, is weakened.”
“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.”
Nancy Lefevre, legal director of the CNEF, said pro-life Christians “wish to bring hope” and “provide alternative solutions” such as palliative care and strong family and church support.”
Lefevre explained to Christian Daily International that legalizing assisted suicide leads to greater ethical dangers for healthcare organizations who refuse to recommend and provide such procedures.
“One issue pertains to freedom of conscience,” Lefevre said. “The Bill contains provision on clause of conscience; however, the mechanism does apply only to individuals and not to organizations, 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.”
CNEF is calling evangelical protestant churches in France to “redouble their efforts in providing support, visits, and comfort,” as they are “called to be witnesses of hope, presence, and concrete solidarity with the most vulnerable.”
United Kingdom
Meanwhile, in June, Labour MP Lauren Edwards reintroduced a bill that passed in the House of Commons in 2025 but was shut down in April. By re-introducing identical legislation, the bill can become law without a House of Lords Vote if the House of Commons ruled in its favor.
“[A]ssisted suicide is threatening a comeback—and this is the latest desperate attempt from pro-suicide campaigners to push this deadly bill through,” Christian Concern said. “This is a crucial moment to ask for a meeting with your MP and to ask them to resist bringing back an assisted suicide bill.”
Christian Concern is calling Christians to pray that “more people will understand the reality that assisted suicide is the intentional taking of a human life, and not the mere removal of life support.”
“The Bible tells us that the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective,” Christian Concern said, referring to James 5:16.
While the U.K. reconsiders legalizing “assisted dying” for terminally ill adults who have been medically diagnosed with six months or less to live, the British Medical Association (BMA) is warning that the proposed bill raises “serious potential moral hazards for consultants, and serious potential adverse impacts on health services.”
Medical professionals at the BMA’s annual conference voted to pass an option “to ensure any legislation around assisted dying specifies that assisted dying is not a medical treatment.”
Isle of Man
Evangelicals are pushing back against the assisted suicide movement in other areas.
Churches across the Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland, are calling members of Tynwald to reject a bill similar to the U.K. legislation that was submitted to Tynwald in June. The Tynwald is the Isle of Man’s parliament, as they are a self-governing British Crown dependency.
Bill Leishman is a minister at Broadway Baptist Church and the “assisted dying” spokesman for Churches Alive in Man, a group that represents the Church of England, Methodist Church, Catholic Church, United Reformed Church, Living Hope, Elim Onchan, Salvation Army and Broadway Baptist.
Leishman told Christian Daily International that “lots of Christians on this Island are praying” and that “[i]n reality, there is still a slim chance that it will fall.”
Leishman warned of the danger of potentially coercing vulnerable people, stating that churches are noting the evidence in countries such as Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium where assisted suicide has been legalized.
“Even without explicit and hard-to-spot coercion, there would be a subtle societal pressure,” Leishman said.
“We are also deeply concerned about the impact this has on suicide prevention,” he said. “To say to one group of people ‘Your life is worth living’ while facilitating another group to end their lives is a mismatch of values.
“How many vulnerable people would be needlessly killed, or how many people might be coerced without detection? How many of those would make it worthwhile to give others a choice?”
Leishman continued, stating that, they “have consistently called to fund Hospice more adequately, as the only safe way to help people have an end-of-life choice.
“Alongside our Christian calling to speak up for the voiceless and to protect the neediest in our society, the Churches on the Isle of Man are clear that life is sacred,” he said.
Churches Alive in Manna also released a joint statement titled “Response to Assisted Dying Bill Amendments.”
“The very existence of this legislation will inevitably cause some of our elderly, disabled or vulnerable people to feel more of a burden,” the statement said.
“More worrying still, we believe the proposed amendments don’t go far enough in guarding against coercion. As churches, we are often there to support people experiencing pain and difficulty, and we speak up now out of deep concern and compassion for all who would be impacted by this legislation.”
The churches continued, saying, “We believe that all human life is a sacred gift from God. The value of any member of our society is not determined by variable measures of the quality of life. The premature ending of individual lives will inevitably diminish the high value we place on all lives.”
Bible passages to ponder amid the euthanasia debate: Galatians 6:2, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Proverbs 6:16-17
