The law on the end of life arrives in the Chamber in the Chamber, to begin a path that does not announce itself either downhill or fast. As planned, the general discussion on the rules governing the “refusal of medical treatment” and the “lawfulness of euthanasia” begins this morning. But it is difficult to predict the time it will take to discuss the issue. So much so that among the parliamentarians there are those who exclude the possibility of getting to the vote before Christmas.
Although among the sponsors of an end-of-life regulation there is the President of the Chamber, Roberto Fico: “Italy must fill the regulatory vacuum on medically assisted suicide because in this way it will enter the era of a more civil and just country He said in recent days.
Unknown secret votes
In any case, several unknowns loom over the text, such as the possibility that it is possible to have recourse to secret votes which, when it comes to ethical issues, always have an unpredictable outcome. The experience of the Zan bill teaches this: on October 27, the law that allegedly introduced “measures to prevent and combat discrimination and violence based on sex, gender or disability” was ditched by the Senate which, by secret vote, approved ” the non-passage to the examination of the articles “.
The opposition of the center-right
The rules on the end of life arrive in the Chamber at Montecitorio at the end of a long work in the Social Affairs and Justice commissions, which ended with a proposal approved by the center-left but rejected by the center-right. The chairman of the Justice Committee in the Chamber, Mario Perantoni (M5s), is however optimistic about the outcome of the proceedings of the Chamber. “The right in the commission has expressed strong opposition to the text on the end of life – he explained – but we have nonetheless opened a serious dialogue, introducing some of their points that are very important to them. I do not believe that this law can be stopped because the country is waiting for it ».
The indications of the Council
If Lega, Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia and Coraggio Italia ask for stricter limits, on the opposite front the Coscioni association has already presented proposals for amendments “deemed indispensable because, unlike the current text, the law represents a step forward”. The development of the rules started from the indications of the Constitutional Court which, in November 2018, urged the Parliament to pass a law on assisted suicide. In 2019 he then indicated four pillars: that the patient is able to understand and want, that he is suffering from a non-reversible disease, that he has intolerable mental or physical suffering, that he depends on vital aids.