Emilia-Romagna approves medically assisted suicide law, third Italian region to act as parliament stalls

The vote

The legislative assembly of Emilia-Romagna approved a regional law on medically assisted suicide on 23 July, after a marathon session and heated political debate. The bill, presented by Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, Pd, Civici and Movimento 5 Stelle with first signatory Paolo Trande (Avs), passed with the support of the centre-left majority. Fratelli d'Italia, Forza Italia, Lega and Rete Civica voted against. The region becomes the third in Italy, after Tuscany and Sardinia, to set its own rules on times and procedures for voluntary medical assistance in dying, in the absence of a national law.

The strongest, most transparent and most public instrument.

President Michele de Pascale said the regional law was chosen to ensure uniform application of the principles set by the Constitutional Court and to provide clearer, more transparent rules with greater guarantees than the past.

What the law provides

The measure applies to people with irreversible pathologies causing intolerable physical or psychological suffering, who are kept alive by life-sustaining treatments and are capable of making free and informed decisions, in line with criteria already established by the Constitutional Court. It creates a multidisciplinary evaluation commission, the CoVam, organised by Area vasta and composed of a palliative care doctor, psychiatrist, anaesthesiologist, forensic doctor, psychologist and nurse. The commission will verify that all requirements are met and will seek a non-binding opinion from the regional clinical ethics committee.

The procedure is free of charge and must ensure that the patient has been informed of all therapeutic alternatives, including palliative care. The Health Commission had begun examining the text in June, using the majority's proposal as a base and combining it with the popular initiative law deposited in July 2023 with 7,300 signatures.

Political context and reactions

The Associazione Luca Coscioni, which promoted the "Liberi Subito" popular initiative, welcomed the approval as a "new great success" obtained "in the face of Parliament's paralysis" on end-of-life legislation. National secretary Filomena Gallo and treasurer Marco Cappato stressed that the eight local health authorities (ASL) of Emilia-Romagna, added to the eleven already active between Tuscany and Sardinia, bring the total to 19 ASLs nationwide with clear procedures and defined timelines.

These structures will avoid the uncertainties of other regions, where sick people, in a state of unbearable suffering, are forced to wait months, or even years, for a response from the health system.

The association said the law gives full and effective application to the "Cappato-Antoniani" ruling of the Constitutional Court and announced plans to bring the proposal to all Italian regions, aiming for procedures as uniform as possible across the country.

The push for national uniformity

In the previous legislature, Emilia-Romagna had relied on administrative acts that later became the subject of legal appeals. The centre-left majority argued that the new law does not introduce new rights but organises on a health-service level a right already recognised by the Constitutional Court. The opposition maintained its firm rejection throughout the debate. With three regions now having their own laws, the pressure on the national parliament to break its deadlock on the issue is likely to grow.