Euthanasia Activists Gain Support In Italy

Referendum campaign in favor of assisted suicide gains traction with the public, against the views of the Catholic Church, Politico.eu reports.

The case of a quadriplegic who asked doctors to end his life 10 years after he was left paralyzed by a car accident has brought Italy a step toward legalizing assisted suicide. The patient won a landmark case against his local health service.

Campaigners launched a petition for a referendum on the issue, collecting half a million signatures. Polls suggest as many as 9 in 10 Italians back legalization of assisted suicide.

Opponents warn that the sick could be pressured into requesting death if it were successful. The Catholic Church stands up against euthanasia too. Pope Francis said in 2019 that doctors faced with legislative changes around the world, “must reject the temptation, to use medicine to support a possible willingness of the patient to die, providing assistance for suicide or directly causing death by euthanasia.”