Four doctors, a nurse, and a psychologist: these are the members of the permanent multidisciplinary commission for the preparation and implementation of the procedure for requesting physician-assisted suicide, appointed by the Cagliari Local Health Authority.
The health authority is moving forward, relying on the regional law on end-of-life care, which the government brought before the Constitutional Court last December, arguing that it falls under the jurisdiction of the state. The Sardinian law was challenged but was enacted according to the legal framework established by the Constitutional Court itself. Meanwhile, Parliament decided not to legislate on the matter, creating a vacuum that the regions have attempted to fill.

The members of the commission for ASL 8 are:

  • Laura di Giuseppe as Palliative Care Medical Director
  • Giuseppina Pilia as Neurologist Medical Director
  • Martina Pinna as Medical Director Psychiatrist
  • Mario Cardia as Medical Director Anesthetist
  • Luigi Giacomo Loi as a Nurse
  • Silvia Garau as Managing Psychologist

Anyone wishing to resort to assisted suicide, if the conditions established by the Constitutional Court are met, must submit an application. The commission – according to regional law – "ensures personal and direct communication with the applicant and preliminarily verifies that the applicant has received adequate information."
clear and adequate guidance on the possibility of accessing palliative care, including continuous deep palliative sedation, as well as on the person's right to refuse or withdraw consent to any healthcare treatment, including life-sustaining treatment. The commission will then define " the methods to guarantee people who meet the requirements (...) interested in accessing physician-assisted suicide, the most painless and dignified end of life possible."

© Riproduzione riservata