Florence, Italy - February 11 (Reuters) - Tuscany passed a "right-to-die" law on Tuesday, making it the first region in predominantly Roman Catholic Italy to regulate assisted suicide due to the absence of national legislation on this contentious issue.
In 2019, Italy's constitutional court essentially legalized assisted suicide and called on the parliament to establish a clear legal framework. However, national politicians have avoided addressing the matter.
Under Tuscany's regional law, approved by a 27-13 majority, the process for handling assisted suicide requests is outlined. This includes a requirement for a medical panel to review applications within 30 days. If the criteria are met, the regional health service must provide the necessary medication and healthcare personnel within 10 days, unless the patient prefers their own doctor to perform the procedure.
The law also allows doctors to refuse to participate based on moral or ethical beliefs, a provision similar to existing national legislation regarding conscientious objection in cases like abortion.
Before the law was passed, conservative Catholic charity Pro Vita Famiglia criticized Tuscany for becoming "a sort of Italian Switzerland," where assisted suicide was viewed as a means of disposing of sick, vulnerable, elderly, and isolated individuals.
Switzerland has permitted assisted suicide since the 1940s.
Healthcare in Italy is primarily managed at the regional level. While Tuscany is governed by the center-left, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing coalition at the national level is largely opposed to euthanasia.
Despite this stance, a right-to-die bill was debated in the right-wing-ruled Veneto regional assembly last year but narrowly failed to pass by one vote due to divisions within both the center-left and center-right camps.
The Constitutional Court's 2019 ruling decriminalized assisted dying for patients with incurable diseases causing "intolerable" suffering, provided they express a clear desire to end their lives.
Nonetheless, regional health authorities have been hesitant to approve assisted suicide requests, leading the pro-euthanasia group, the Luca Coscioni Association, to advocate for clearer legislation on the matter.
The association aims to introduce assisted dying laws in all of Italy's 20 regions, with its efforts inspiring both the legislation in Tuscany and the unsuccessful attempt in Veneto. Several other regions in Italy are also working on similar legislative initiatives.