Tuscany on Tuesday became the first of Italy’s 20 regions to set out rules allowing assisted suicide, which the country’s top court legalized more than five years ago.
The measures were approved by the regional parliament by 27 to 13 votes, according to the chamber’s president Antonio Mazzeo.
The Italian Constitutional Court ruled in September 2019 that assisted suicide was allowed for patients “kept alive by life-saving treatments and suffering from an irreversible pathology, with unbearable physical and psychological suffering, but fully capable of making free and conscious decisions.”
Partly due to the country’s strong Catholic tradition, the national parliament has yet to adopt any legislation on the matter.
Instead, the Luca Coscioni Association, which promotes euthanasia, has presented proposed legislation to the country’s regions, with Tuscany being the first to accept.
The measures approved on Tuesday call for the region’s health authorities to create commissions including at least one psychiatrist and a psychologist to examine requests from those seeking assisted suicide.
In the event of a positive response, patients may decide to end their days at home or in a health facility.
