The major bioethical stakes for 2026

The major bioethical stakes for 2026

End of life, old age, bioethics convention, rising abortion rate…several major events are likely to mark this new year, in an unprecedented social, economic and political context.

Continuing examination of the end-of-life bill

In a context of deep crisis in the health system, President Macron has made it one of his priorities, even announcing during his new year address: “We shall finally complete the legislative work on the question of a dignified end of life, a subject on which I took a commitment, before you in 2022”.

However, the subject is far from being a priority for the French public, and there is no consensus in France on euthanasia. The bill is however soon to be examined by the French Senate (starting on 20th January 2026). It has already been subject to amendments by the social affairs commission of the Senate on 7th January which, in particular, renamed “the right to assistance in dying” as adopted at its first reading by the National Assembly with the new term “medical assistance in dying”.

In so doing, the Commission, without naming them, has ratified the serious acts of euthanasia and assisted suicide and has even introduced dangerous confusion between euthanasia and deep and continuous sedation until death, as defined in the current Claeys-Leonetti law. It thus ratifies death caused intentionally as a response to suffering and misrepresents the very meaning of care.

The arrival of a plan for old age ?

France is currently at a demographic watershed. The number of births is at its lowest level since World War II. The number of deaths is increasing, due to the numerous baby-boom generations reaching higher mortality age. This worrying decline in birth-rate, in an already heavily degraded economic context, reinforces the pressures on the funding of pensions and dependence.

There is a demographic reality of an ageing population with the baby-boomers reaching old-age. Some people even talk of a “demographic wall”. Those born in 1945 will be 85 in 2030. The number of people aged 85 and over is increasing and will reach a figure of 5 million by 2050. Life expectancy is increasing but not necessarily in good health. A recent study estimated the old-age dependent population at 3 million in 2050, compared with 2 million today.

That is the context for the “old-age plan”, initially announced for 2025 then January 2026, finally to be revealed in early February, according to the ministry in charge of Autonomy. The subject is becoming ever more urgent with the inevitable ageing of the population.

Launch of the bioethics convention

The CCNE (National Consultative Ethics Committee for biology and health), has announced the launch of the bioethics convention, in view of a future revision of the bioethics law, which can only come in after the next presidential election. Such conventions consist in the organisation of a public debate.

It is a prerequisite of the bioethics law itself prior to any intended reform regarding ethical problems and societal matters. In fact, the different laws have already ratified several major transgressions: the collection of gametes, freeze-preservation, screening and destruction of embryos, extension of PND and PID at the risk of eugenics. Alliance VITA will be taking part in the debates and intends to maintain its information and alerting campaigns on these subjects, on the basis of its over 30 years of grass-root experience, through the contributions from its network, its testimonies, its experts and its help-lines.

The urgent need for an abortion prevention policy

In 2024, some 251,270 abortions were recorded in France, according to DREES (Directory for Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics). Since 2018 – apart from the Covid years – the number of abortions has steadily increased, to the total indifference of the public authorities who long ago gave up on the idea of conducting any true prevention policy, despite it being an irreversible life-threatening act. However, despite this context of trivialisation of abortion which went so far as to registrate abortion in the constitution, the extension of time limits and the very favourable media coverage, the French public do not consider abortion to be a trivial act and massively support the establishment of a true preventive policy. Two thirds (65%) of the population consider that society should do more to help women to avoid the need to resort to abortion.

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