A 78-year-old woman with terminal
cancer has committed assisted suicide in Italy, the Luca
Coscioni Association said on Monday.
"Gloria" (not her real name) died at her home in the northern
Veneto region on Sunday.
She was the second person in Italy to have chosen to put an end
to her suffering through assisted suicide on the basis of the
Constitutional Court's 2019 'Cappato ruling', named after
right-to-die campaigner Marco Cappato, making assisted suicide
permissible in certain circumstances.
She was also the first person to have had the medication and
equipment needed to carry out her wishes delivered directly by
the local health authority.
The practice became possible after Veneto's regional health
authority and ethics committee in June approved her request for
assisted suicide under the terms of the 2019 ruling.
Previously, three other Italian regions, Marche, Umbria and
Friuli Venezia Giulia, turned down similar requests by
terminally ill patients wishing to end their lives.
"At this moment our thoughts go to 'Gloria's family, to her
husband, who was close to her until the last moment," said
Filomena Gallo and Marco Cappato respectively Secretary and
Treasurer of the Luca Coscioni Association.
"Although 'Gloria' had to wait a few months, she chose to
proceed in Italy in order to have her beloved family by her side
and feel free in her own country," they added.
"She was spared an end that she did not want, thanks to the
rules established by the Constitutional Court and thanks to the
fairness and humanity of the Veneto health system and the
regional institutions headed by Luca Zaia," they added.
The Veneto ruling was the second in the region around Venice and
the fourth in Italy.
Photo: Marco Cappato.
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