Veneto approves end-of-life law in 32-14 vote, becoming first centre-right Italian region to regulate assisted suicide

Legislative approval in Venice

On 2 September 2026, the Veneto Regional Council approved popular initiative bill number 1 regulating regional healthcare procedures and timelines for medically assisted suicide. The measure passed with 32 votes in favour, 14 against, and five abstentions following two days and over ten hours of floor debate. Veneto became the fourth Italian region to adopt end-of-life regulations, following Tuscany, Sardinia, and Emilia-Romagna, and the first governed by a centre-right administration. Manuela Lanzarin of Lega-LV, president of the Fifth Commission, served as the bill's rapporteur. The vote followed an earlier rejection of the measure in the previous legislature on 16 January 2024, when a draft submitted by the Luca Coscioni Association with 9,000 signatures failed by a single vote.

Medical criteria and administrative procedures

The approved legislation establishes administrative timelines within the regional public health service without creating an open-ended right to assisted dying. Eligibility is restricted to four cumulative conditions established under Constitutional Court ruling 242 of 2019: an irreversible pathology, physical or psychological suffering deemed intolerable by the patient, dependence on life-sustaining treatments, and the capacity to make free, informed decisions. Requests must be submitted to the public healthcare service, where a multidisciplinary commission assesses medical eligibility. Approved amendments introduced by Veneto Governor Alberto Stefani require medical staff to inform patients of available palliative care options before proceeding, with a dedicated palliative care physician serving on the evaluation panel. Regional bioethics committees will provide binding guidelines to territorial assessment bodies.

Political and institutional reactions

Veneto Regional Council President Luca Zaia defended the legislation as a responsible administrative response to individuals facing severe physical conditions.

With this law, we essentially approve, within the bounds of legal legitimacy, a procedure that responds to the management of any patient who receives approval from the ethics committee. It was our duty to provide this answer to the very few patients who come forward.

Zaia noted that Veneto recorded 31 requests for assisted suicide between 2019 and September 2026, with local ethics committees granting authorization in three cases. Opposition leader Carlo Calenda of Azione, whose party supported the bill, criticized the seven-year inaction of the national parliament following the 2019 Constitutional Court ruling.

The Italian Parliament has been stalled for seven years, despite ruling 242 of the Constitutional Court. It is a frankly absurd situation: regions are intervening because the state does not do its job.

National context and religious opposition

The regional vote reflected ongoing differences between subnational legislatures and Catholic Church doctrine. On 8 August 2026, Pope Leo XIV reiterated the church's opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide while rejecting therapeutic obstinacy.

There is no right to death. We must accompany people to death, but not cause death or assist any form of suicide.

Emilia-Romagna previously passed its own framework under Regional Law 10 on 23 July 2026, implementing Constitutional Court rulings 242 of 2019 and 135 of 2024. The Luca Coscioni Association, which previously assisted terminally ill patients in travelling to the Dignitas clinic near Zurich, continues to sponsor regional popular initiatives to address the legislative vacuum in Rome.