Agencies Paris

France's lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, is voting Tuesday on a bill to allow adults with incurable illness to take lethal medication, as public demands grow across Europe for legal end-of-life options.

Tuesday's vote, expected in the late afternoon, is a key legislative step on the contentious and long-debated issue. If approved by a majority of lawmakers, the bill will be sent to the Senate for further debate.

The proposed measure defines assisted dying as allowing people to use a lethal substance under certain conditions so that they may take it themselves. Only those whose physical condition doesn't allow them to do it alone would be able to get help from a doctor or a nurse.

The bill provides for strict conditions   

To benefit from the newly proposed measure, patients would need to be over 18 and be French citizens or live in France. A team of medical professionals would need to confirm that the patient has a grave and incurable illness "at an advanced or terminal stage," is suffering from intolerable and untreatable pain, and is seeking lethal medication of their own free will.

Patients with severe psychiatric conditions and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease won't be eligible.The person would initiate the request for lethal medication and confirm the request after a period of reflection.If approved, a doctor would then deliver a prescription for the lethal medication, which could be taken at home, at a nursing home or a health care facility. In parallel, another bill on palliative care meant to reinforce measures to relieve pain and preserve patients' dignity will also be put to a vote Tuesday.