Rome, May 22 (LaPresse) – Cristian, a 55-year-old man from Lombardy suffering from multiple sclerosis, died on May 18 at his home after self-administering a lethal dose of medication. This is the 17th such case in Italy. The news was announced by the Luca Coscioni Association. The disease, from which he had suffered since 1999, caused Cristian to endure unbearable pain and to become totally dependent on the care of his caregivers: he could no longer walk, required manual bowel evacuation, had a urinary catheter, and suffered from constant urinary tract infections. For this reason, faced with the irreversibility of his illness and the progressive worsening of his condition, Cristian began to inquire, through the Luca Coscioni Association, about his end-of-life rights in Italy and, last February, asked his healthcare provider to verify the conditions for accessing medically assisted suicide in Italy. “Christian’s case confirms the full applicability of the Constitutional Court’s ruling throughout the entire country, not just in Tuscany and Sardinia. It also confirms that when a healthcare provider fulfills its duties in a timely manner, the patient is able to avoid enduring a long agony against their will. However, since the situation varies from one healthcare provider to another, in Lombardy as in the rest of Italy, it is essential that regional regulations be approved to clarify the procedures to be followed, in order to guarantee the ‘swift action’ required by the Constitutional Court, and that citizens and doctors be informed. For this reason, as the Luca Coscioni Association, we are continuing our petition drive in Lombardy for the “Liberi Subito” regional citizens’ initiative and we continue to provide information on end-of-life rights through our toll-free number,” stated Marco Cappato and Filomena Gallo, respectively Treasurer and National Secretary of the Luca Coscioni Association.