A controversial government-backed assisted suicide bill is set to reach the Italian Senate floor on July 17, following approval by the Upper House’s justice and health committees on Wednesday.
The bill, supported by the parties in Premier Giorgia Meloni’s coalition, aims to clarify the legal framework for end-of-life decisions following a landmark 2019 Constitutional Court ruling. That ruling established that assisted suicide could be legal under specific and tightly defined conditions.
Under the proposed law, assisted suicide would only be permitted if the patient suffers from an irreversible illness, experiences unbearable physical or psychological suffering, is dependent on life-support treatments, and is mentally capable of making an informed decision. The bill also mandates that applicants be in palliative care and affirms the value of life “regardless of age, health or social condition.”
Opposition parties voted against the bill, voicing concern over two key points: the emphasis on palliative care and the exclusion of assisted suicide from services provided by the national health system. Critics argue this could force patients to turn to private options, raising fears of a de facto privatisation of assisted suicide in Italy.
Committee would assess each assisted suicide case
A new seven-member committee, appointed by the government, would assess each assisted suicide request. The committee must issue a decision within 90 days.
The right-to-die group Luca Coscioni Association, which has long campaigned for legal clarity on assisted suicide, previously helped several terminally ill Italians travel to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland before the Constitutional Court’s 2019 ruling.
The government is also pursuing legal action against Tuscany over a regional law on assisted suicide, which Rome argues exceeds the limits set by the Constitutional Court. That case has added further tension to the national debate on end-of-life rights.
Italy remains deeply divided on the issue. Supporters of the bill say it provides legal certainty while safeguarding vulnerable individuals, while critics say it imposes ideological and financial barriers on those seeking to make end-of-life choices.
