Veneto has become the fourth Italian region to regulate medically assisted suicide, despite the absence of national legislation on end-of-life care. It is the first centre-right administration to make the decision.
The regional assembly approved the law on Wednesday by 32 votes to 14, with five abstentions, making Veneto the first region governed by a centre-right administration to introduce procedures and timeframes for people seeking medically assisted suicide.
Veneto joins Tuscany, Sardinia and Emilia-Romagna, which have also adopted regional measures following Italy’s landmark 2019 Constitutional Court ruling on assisted suicide. Emilia-Romagna approved its legislation in July this year.
The Veneto law does not create a new right to assisted suicide. Instead, it establishes procedures within the regional health service for cases that meet the conditions set out by the Constitutional Court, including provisions intended to prevent lengthy delays.
What does Italy’s law say about medically assisted suicide?
In 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that assisting a person to die is not necessarily a criminal offence in strictly defined circumstances.
The ruling concerned patients who are being kept alive by life-sustaining treatment, have an irreversible condition causing suffering they consider intolerable, retain the capacity to make free and informed decisions, and meet other safeguards established by the court.
The court also called for Parliament to address the issue through national legislation.
That legislation has still not been passed, leaving a legal and practical gap for patients seeking access to a procedure that can be lawful under certain circumstances.
The result has been increasing pressure on Italy’s regions to establish clear procedures through their health services. The Associazione Luca Coscioni, which campaigns for end-of-life rights, has been particularly active in pushing for regional rules.
Veneto vote crosses political divide
The vote was significant because the measure was approved in a region governed by the centre right.
The legislation received support from much of the regional centre-right, as well as the centre-left opposition, although the governing coalition was divided. The Lega largely backed the measure, while Fratelli d’Italia councillors opposed it and members of Forza Italia were split.
The law followed a lengthy political battle. A similar proposal was rejected in Veneto in January 2024 by a single vote.
The Associazione Luca Coscioni welcomed Wednesday’s decision, describing it as a measure to ensure people are not subjected to unnecessary delays when seeking access to a procedure already covered by Constitutional Court rulings.
The vote leaves Parliament facing renewed pressure to establish a single national framework for end-of-life care rather than leaving different regions to develop their own procedures.
