Sibilla Barbieri, an Italian woman
with terminal cancer, has committed assisted suicide at a clinic
in Switzerland after the health authority in Rome denied
permission for her to end her suffering in this way in Italy.
The 58-year-old actress was accompanied to the clinic by her son
and members of the right-to-die Luca Coscioni association.
The association has campaigned hard for people to be able to
have access to assisted suicide in Italy, amid a legislative
vacuum, and it has had some success, although the cases in which
permission is granted are extremely limited.
The son and volunteers who went with her said they will report
themselves to Carabinieri police on Tuesday.
The woman was denied permission for assisted suicide because she
was not reliant on life-support treatment, according to a
medical panel.
Barbieri recorded a video before she died in which she blasted
the decision, saying cancer patients were being discriminated
against.
She also said it was unfair because, while she could afford the
10,000 euros needed to commit assisted suicide outside Italy,
many people in the same situation cannot.
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