Milan, Mar 28 (LaPresse) – No to assisted suicide for Martina Oppelli. The Trieste Court ruled on March 25 to reject her request to order the Asugi health authority to comply with a Constitutional Court ruling regarding the interpretation of "life-sustaining treatment." The decision was reported by the Luca Coscioni Association, which is following the case of the woman from Trieste who has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for over 20 years.
According to doctors and the court, Martina is not dependent on life-sustaining treatments and thus is not entitled to access assisted suicide in Italy. Following ruling 135 by the Constitutional Court last July—which stated that the notion of life-sustaining treatment should also include assistance from caregivers and not be limited to mechanical or pharmacological support—the Trieste Court had previously ordered Asugi to reassess Martina’s condition within 30 days.
Despite clear signs of her deteriorating health, the health authority issued a report acknowledging the decline and recognizing the need for essential treatments such as a cough-assist machine, assistance with daily biological functions, and substantial pharmacological therapy. However, it concluded that these do not constitute “life-sustaining treatment.”
Martina Oppelli, through her legal team coordinated by attorney Filomena Gallo, National Secretary of the Luca Coscioni Association, has appealed the new denial. “I’m not a legal expert,” said Martina, “but I find it offensive—both to myself and to the public bodies that provide me with essential support subsidies—that the decision states the assistance is merely for personal care. Having a certified 100% disability with severity recognized under Law 104, I wonder whether the assessment committees might have been mistaken.”
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