Italian Constitutional Court stops referendum on euthanasia
Italian right-to-die activist Marco Cappato, one of the people behind the referendum initiative. Photo EPA, Matteo Bazzi
Southern Europe
Italy will not have a referendum on euthanasia, despite the sufficient number of signatures that were collected during the petition. The Constitutional Court said a referendum would not guarantee “minimum protection of human life,” especially for “weak and vulnerable persons.”
Campaigners had collected over 1.2 million signatures for the referendum – well past the 500,000-threshold needed–. But still, the court ruled that the referendum was inadmissible.
The referendum proposed to repeal a part of article 579 of the penal code, which punishes the murder of a consenting person. In this way, active euthanasia would be allowed, which occurs when the doctor administers the drug necessary to die, which is illegal in Italy. Under current Italian law, anyone helping another person committing suicide can be jailed for five to twelve years.
Civil disobedience
The Luca Coscioni association organised the petition. This organisation promotes the freedom of scientific research and advocation, including research on embryonic stem cells and legalising euthanasia.
The association is not happy with the verdict. “The path towards the legalisation of euthanasia does not stop” writes the association in a note, according to the Italian news website Today. “Certainly, the cancellation of the referendum instrument by the Constitutional Court on the end of life will make the path longer and more tortuous, and for many people, this will mean an additional burden of suffering and violence. But the road is marked”. The association goes on by saying that they will not leave a stone unturned, “from civil disobedience to judicial appeals”. This reports Italian broadcaster Rai.
Italian writer Dacia Maraini thinks the verdict is a “disaster”. She says so in Italian daily la Republicca. “I think, like our Greek ancestors, that suicide is a right. Life belongs to those who live it.
Bioethical populism
Christian democrats and conservatives welcomed the decision of the court. Senator Paola Binetti from the centrist, Christian-democratic UdC party expressed “extreme satisfaction” with the court decision. This reports the Italian news agency AgenPress.
The leader of Pro Vita & Famiglia, Toni Brandi, and the president of the Committee “No to legal euthanasia”, Jacopo Coghe, were also happy with the verdict. “We are grateful to the Court”, they said, according to Italian daily Avvenire, “for their courage to stand up against bioethical populism among political intimidation and media pressure.”
In the run-up to the verdict, the Pope condemned euthanasia. “This is inhumane”, the Pope said, according to Catholic News. “This is not helping them; this is pushing them more quickly toward death.”
Watered down
Following the ruling, the heads of the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement — both within the coalition government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi — said it was now up to parliament to finally address the issue with a concrete law.
However, Politico reports that activists argue that the proposal has been watered down with extra conditions added, such as the need for the patient to experience unbearable mental and physical suffering, be on life support and refuse palliative care.
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