A man with Parkinson’s disease has become the first person in Tuscany to die by medically assisted suicide, following the region’s approval of a controversial law earlier this year.
The right-to-die Luca Coscioni association announced that 60-year-old writer Daniele Pieroni ended his life on 17 May. He had suffered from Parkinson’s since 2008 and was dependent on a feeding tube for 21 hours each day due to severe dysphagia.
Pieroni chose to die “with lucidity and serenity,” the association said.
Tuscany passed its assisted suicide law in February, making it the first Italian region to create such a framework. The legislation was designed to comply with a 2019 Constitutional Court ruling, which stated assisted suicide could be legal under strict conditions. These include the presence of an irreversible illness, unbearable physical or psychological suffering, and the use of life-sustaining treatments.
However, the law is being challenged by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s centre-right government, which argues it oversteps regional powers. Parliament has yet to pass national legislation on end-of-life choices, despite being urged to do so by the Constitutional Court.
Right-wing parties remain opposed to expanding access to assisted suicide.
The Coscioni association has long advocated for the right to die with dignity. Before the Tuscany law, it had supported Italians seeking assisted suicide abroad, particularly at the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland.
