The Stalled Project on End of Life in Lombardy
According to Repubblica, the bill on end of life proposed by the “Liberi subito” committee led by Marco Cappato in Lombardy has “sunk before even setting sail.” The truth is that the text has flaws on all fronts, regardless of any “clash between FdI and Pd.”
Today, the legal office of the Regional Council confirmed this, as well as the legal legislative service of the Lombardy Regional Council, which, on March 6, 2023, denied technical assistance in drafting the bill. The office warned of “potential risks of intrusion into national legislation.” This was confirmed on August 6, when the technical sheet on the bill on assisted suicide was presented: the Regional Council’s legal office confirmed that the proposal contains articles that encroach on the exclusive legislative sphere of the State in civil and criminal law matters.
End of Life, Radical Deceptions in Lombardy
This is not a regional issue exclusive to Lombardy: as we have highlighted before, the constitutional incompatibility of regional intervention in this matter had already been established by the State Advocacy in the cases of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and transmitted to Piedmont, where the bill also failed.
While the opinion is not binding, the national legislature is free not to regulate the matter, but the Regional Council is also free to vote for an unconstitutional law to raise a political issue with the government and appeal to the Constitutional Court. The precedents exist: this is the strategy of the radicals who exploit the ambiguity of “health protection” (in the context of assisted suicide) as a concurrent competence between States and Regions to pave the way for national legislation.
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However, the Regions cannot and should not touch on the methods of delivery and execution, not only because they would affect civil and criminal law but also because they would intervene without a national legal framework, introducing new Essential Levels of Assistance (one per region according to Cappato’s wishes) in violation of the exclusive state competence, as confirmed by the Constitutional Court.
Matteo Forte: “What Autonomy? Opposition Seeks Independence on End of Life Issues”
Interestingly, in Lombardy, where joint hearings began following the failures in Veneto, Friuli, and Piedmont, it is peculiar that the opposition remains entrenched in misunderstandings: “The text concerns the organization of the regional health service in response to the Constitutional Court’s ruling” (Carmela Rozza, Pd), “The Lombard center-right constantly invokes greater autonomy. I find it peculiar that when faced with such a sensitive issue for citizens, they end up hiding behind the State” (Nicola Di Marco, M5s).
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“But what autonomy are they talking about? They want to prevent us from independently hiring doctors and nurses but want to legislate on fundamental rights under the State’s jurisdiction. Autonomy is requested on the famous 23 concurrent matters, with the exception of determining the fundamental principles established by state laws. What the opposition wants is called independence,” counters Tempi‘s Matteo Forte, president of the Institutional Affairs Commission on behalf of Fdi. “Regarding rights, the Constitutional Court has always ruled on the non-punishment of assisted suicide, but it has never affirmed the patient’s right to suicide: a right that does not exist.”
Making a Law? “Certainly: on Palliative Care”
This refers to the July ruling where the Constitutional Court reiterated what it had already stated in 2019 regarding the case of Dj Fabo, which Cappato is striving to translate into law to enable assisted death. Both rulings emphasized the “necessary provision of palliative care and pain therapy” as a “prerequisite” for considering requests for assisted suicide. This is an aspect on which a regional law can and should intervene, from pain therapies to palliative sedation. Furthermore, experts have shown that where pain is relieved, requests for euthanasia and assisted suicide decrease by 10 times. Conversely, in regions with legislation, the number of requests increases due to public acceptance.
The nine-month period for the committees to review the bill in Lombardy expires on November 21. The regulations (and thus the bill’s process) in the region of Dj Fabo, where the Ambrogino d’oro was awarded to Cappato, differ significantly from those of other administrations. “Every path is open,” concludes Forte.
