Rome, March 26 (LaPresse) – “There is no right to suicide, nor any obligation for doctors to assist a suicidal will. What we are dealing with here is a criminal provision that adequately protects the right to life.” This was the most significant part of the statement made by State Attorney Ruggero Di Martino during the public hearing currently underway in Rome before the Constitutional Court, where the legitimacy of Article 580 of the Penal Code is being discussed. The case was raised by the investigating judge of the Milan court, particularly concerning the provision punishing “those who facilitate another person’s suicide in the form of medically assisted suicide, when the person is not being kept alive by life-sustaining treatments, suffers from an irreversible condition causing intolerable physical or psychological suffering, and has expressed a free and informed decision to end their life.” According to the State Attorney’s Office, outside of the scenarios already defined by prior Constitutional Court rulings, there are no requirements, not even minimal ones, to allow access to assisted suicide.
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