[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] For the first time in Italy, the birthplace of Catholicism, a man ended his life through legal assisted suicide.
According to Italian local media including ANSA news agency, the man ended his life on the 16th (local time) through assisted dying with a lethal injection machine device in front of his family. In his will, he stated, "I did everything I could to continue living and tried to make the most of my disability," adding, "But now I am at the end of the rope both mentally and physically."
He said, "I do not deny that it is regrettable to end my life this way. Life is great and only happens once."
The man, a former truck driver, had been bedridden after becoming paralyzed from head to toe in a traffic accident 12 years ago. In August 2020, he requested assisted suicide from the health authorities of the Marche region in central Italy, and the authorities approved it last November, stating that his condition met the constitutional court's criteria for allowance.
He explained the reason for deciding on assisted dying, saying, "I am like a boat drifting in the sea, relying on others for everything in daily life." He also told his family and friends, "I can finally fly wherever I want," and asked them "not to be sad."
In Italy, where the Vatican, the headquarters of Catholicism, is located and where the Catholic tradition deeply condemns suicide as a sin, assisting or abetting another person's extreme choice has been strictly prohibited under criminal law. According to the related legal provisions introduced in 1930, such acts can be punished with up to 12 years in prison.
However, in September 2019, the Constitutional Court opened the path to conditional legalization by ruling that helping someone who is suffering unbearable pain to end their own life is not always a crime. Currently, countries in Europe such as Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain have legalized assisted dying or euthanasia.
The Constitutional Court set criteria for allowing assisted dying, including patients who cannot be treated or are kept alive by mechanical devices, and those suffering unbearable physical or mental pain. It also stipulated that the person must make the decision with complete free will and clearly understand the consequences.
The court mandated that local health authorities strictly review applications from those wishing for assisted dying based on these criteria and decide whether to approve them. However, in February this year, a citizens' group advocating for the "right to die" submitted a petition for a national referendum to fully legalize assisted dying or euthanasia with one million signatures from the general public, but it was rejected on the grounds that "there are still insufficient safeguards to protect the vulnerable."
Meanwhile, recently in South Korea, a bill defining "assisted dying" was proposed. On the 15th, Assemblyman Ahn Gyu-baek of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed a partial amendment to the "Act on Hospice, Palliative Care, and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients at the End of Life." The bill includes provisions allowing terminal patients wishing for assisted dying to apply to an Assisted Dying Review Committee, to be newly established under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, for review.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
