Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
The Council of Ministers has challenged the Veneto region's end-of-life law. According to government sources, Regional Affairs Minister Roberto Calderoli, a member of the League party like Veneto President Alberto Stefani, has expressed opposition to the law's challenge. Forza Italia, including University Minister Anna Maria Bernini, have also expressed doubts.
It has been reported that during the debate, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, on behalf of the Forza Italia delegation, had the need for legislative intervention by Parliament recorded in the minutes. For Forza Italia, such a sensitive matter must be regulated by the Chambers through national legislation that avoids the proliferation of regional laws, even conflicting ones, and implements the recommendations of the Constitutional Court.
“I fully respect the decision taken today by the Council of Ministers to challenge the Veneto law on end-of-life care.
It is a constitutional prerogative of the government, which has the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court when it believes a regional law is unconstitutional." This is how Luca Zaia, President of the Veneto Regional Council, commented on the Council of Ministers' decision. "Just as it is entirely legitimate that the League representatives in the Council of Ministers did not participate in the vote.
"I personally wholeheartedly support the decision made by the Veneto Regional Council, which I personally supported and voted for. A responsible decision, one that respects the rulings of the Constitutional Court, and, above all, is concerned about citizens and their freedom. We wanted to provide clear rules for situations already covered by our legal system, avoiding leaving patients, their families, and doctors alone when faced with extremely delicate decisions," he states.
"The appeal will represent a further opportunity for legal analysis," Zaia continues. "The Constitutional Court has already ruled on the regulations of Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, and Sardinia, also clarifying the scope within which the regions can intervene. Now it will also have the opportunity to rule on the Veneto law. We await this ruling calmly, convinced of the seriousness of the work done and the desire to fully respect the constitutional framework. But I believe the real problem lies elsewhere, and it cannot be attributed to this government or a single political majority: for too many years, Italy has been dragging a legislative vacuum on end-of-life care that no Parliament has yet managed to fill."
Zaia then recalls "2009 and the case of Eluana Englaro, who died after seventeen years in a vegetative state, when a long legal battle waged by her father Beppino led to authorization to withdraw artificial nutrition and hydration. That case profoundly shook the country and sparked a debate that, seventeen years later, we cannot consider concluded. In 2019, with its ruling in the DJ Fabo case, the Constitutional Court identified four strict conditions for assisted suicide to be exempt from punishment: an irreversible pathology, physical or psychological suffering deemed intolerable, dependence on life-sustaining treatments, and the full capacity to make free and informed decisions. But that ruling certainly did not claim to permanently replace the legislator. It was a necessary response to a regulatory vacuum, accompanied by a specific call to Parliament to intervene."
"Seventeen years have passed since then," emphasizes the President of the Veneto Regional Council. "Governments and majorities of differing persuasions have succeeded one another, but a national law still isn't in place. That's why I don't see this as a battle between the right and the left. On such profound issues, sensitivities cut across all political camps, because individual consciences come before political affiliations. The point isn't to decide who is morally right, but to take responsibility for providing the country with clear legislation that respects the dignity of each person and guarantees the necessary safeguards, starting with palliative care and the protection of the most vulnerable."
I therefore hope that this new constitutional issue will also serve as a stimulus for Parliament to finally address the issue, without further delays. Parliament will find the strength and courage to intervene, passing a law that finally provides concrete answers to these sick people, their families, and those who accompany them every day on their journey of suffering. The Regions cannot be left alone to respond to terminally ill patients who, by virtue of the Court's ruling, have the right to manage their end-of-life care and therefore to receive a response from the regional healthcare system. I hope that, when it comes to 'end-of-life,' a liberal, not liberticidal, approach prevails. A liberal state must respect everyone's beliefs, including those of those who make choices we personally disagree with. Freedom of conscience must apply equally to those who are in favor and those who are against, without the beliefs of one becoming impositions on the other. This, in my opinion, is the responsibility of a modern political system and of a country that truly wants to put the dignity and freedom of its citizens at its center," concludes Zaia.
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