Sardinia is the second Italian region after Tuscany to approve the law on physician-assisted suicide . The green light came a short while ago with 32 votes in favor, 19 against, and 1 abstention.
Lorenzo Cozzolino (Orizzonte Comune) voted against the law in the majority, while Giuseppe Frau (Uniti con Todde) abstained . Gianni Chessa (Forza Italia) voted in favor of the law in the opposition.
The provision, in compliance with the principles established by Constitutional Court ruling no. 242 of 2019, to ensure the necessary healthcare for people wishing to access end-of-life care, defines the timeframes and organizational methods for providing the relevant treatments. It also provides for the establishment of a permanent multidisciplinary commission to verify the existence of the requirements . The commission will include a palliative care physician, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, an anesthesiologist, a nurse, and a psychologist.
The regional health authorities will provide technical and pharmacological support and medical assistance to prepare for self-administration of the authorized medication at a hospital, hospice, or, if requested, at home. The services and treatments provided are free of charge .
The law, like the one approved in Tuscany and already challenged by the government, follows the text written by the Luca Coscioni association . The Sardinian measure also faces a very high risk of being challenged, despite the work done by the Health Committee, taking into account the objections raised by the Council of Ministers to the Tuscany Region.
