“Richiesta di farmaco e informazioni sul suicidio assistito: una storia di malattia”
Laura Santi, a 48-year-old woman suffering from advanced multiple sclerosis, is urging the Umbria 1 Local Health Unit (Usl) to complete the necessary checks and determine the most suitable medication and method of self-administration for end-of-life assistance. She has filed a complaint with the civil court in Umbria, seeking to overturn the partial ruling issued in early July that partially granted her request for the local health unit to complete the procedure for accessing assisted suicide. The court is currently considering the case.
“We have insisted that the judging panel surpass the initial ruling,” explained Francesca Re, lawyer for the Luca Coscioni Association, which is supporting Laura Santi. “That ruling, in fact, acknowledged Laura’s existing right to have her conditions evaluated in order to access medically assisted death. However, it did not provide the health unit with the means to complete the necessary checks, which were incomplete for us. We are asking for a proper order to complete these checks. The Constitutional Court and the lower court have already recognized the existence of this right.”
“Now we want it to be enforceable. So far, the health unit has only assessed Laura’s health conditions, but not the part of the Constitutional Court’s decision that requires the identification of the most suitable medication and self-administration methods. Only when this evaluation is completed will the report be comprehensive.”
Meanwhile, the ethics committee has weighed in on Laura Santi’s case. “It acknowledges the partial report from the medical commission,” said lawyer Re, “and states that the verified requirements are fulfilled, except for the vital treatment aspect. It aligns with the opinion of the medical commission and does not go further.”
Please note that this is a rephrased version of the original article.