Italy's Chamber keeps rule letting struck-off no-vax doctors rejoin the register

The vote

On 27 October the Chamber of Deputies kept article 8 of the bill on the reform of health professions, with 126 votes in favour, 113 against and 2 abstentions. The provision was added in the Social Affairs committee in July on a proposal from Fratelli d'Italia, with Alice Buonguerrieri as first signatory. It allows health workers struck off the register during the Covid pandemic for non-intentional acts to apply for re-registration under certain conditions. It does not reinstate anyone automatically, and applications must be filed within 60 days of the provision taking effect. The bill is at its first reading in the Chamber, so the rule will apply only after the Senate passes it.

In favour126

Against113

Abstained2

In favour

126 votes

Against

113 votes

Abstained

2 votes

Data from the article text

A margin of 13 votes

The outcome depended on Futuro Nazionale, whose eight deputies voted yes. Rossano Sasso said the norm would not have passed had those eight voted against it. Several Forza Italia deputies did not vote, although votes from that party also helped carry the text. Inside Futuro Nazionale the result is read as a warning to the governing coalition ahead of further votes and possible future alliances.

Opposition and doctors' bodies

Opposition benches attacked the measure from several sides. Elena Bonetti of Azione told the chamber:

“We can tell ourselves whatever we want, but today we are reinstating these doctors who disregarded the professional duty that the obligation imposed on them.”

Marianna Ricciardi of the Five Star Movement said the vote slapped both doctors who followed the rules and Covid victims. She recalled that the struck-off doctors had tried to treat cancer with Bach flower remedies and serious infections with fermented papaya. Devis Dori of Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS) called the article an insult to health workers who did their duty, while Ilenia Malavasi of the Democratic Party warned of a dangerous precedent. Marco Furfaro of the Democratic Party also addressed the chamber:

“You are giving the white coat back to people who spat on it.”

Filippo Anelli, president of the national federation of doctors' orders (FNOMCEO), had objected already in July, saying the measure undermines the orders' work. Now he says it favours some doctors over others, and that those affected are very few. Davide Faraone (Iv) and Riccardo Magi (+Europa) also attacked the vote. In the chamber, Mauro Berruto of the Democratic Party demanded the immediate resignation of Maurizio Casasco, president of the Federazione medico sportiva italiana and a Forza Italia deputy who had backed the provision.

What comes next

The bill now moves to the Senate, which must also approve it before the provision can take effect. The 60-day window for applications starts only when the provision enters into force, so doctors cannot file before then. No date for the Senate debate appears in the reporting. The majority's margin rested on eight Futuro Nazionale votes, while the opposition and the doctors' orders have already rejected the rule.