A 46-year-old man who has been paralysed for 8 years on Monday chose deep sedation as a way to end his life.
Euthanasia is illegal in Italy but recent court cases have acquitted people involved in assisted suicide, and the Constitutional Court has called for legislation despite recently nixing a referendum on the issue.
Fabio Ridolfi, from Fermignano near Pesaro in Marche, “has chosen to put an end to his suffering via deep and continual sedation,” he said by ocular pointer via the right-to-die Luca Coscioni Association, which has acted in several high-profile assisted suicide cases in Italy. “For two months now my suffering has been recognised as unbearable. “I have all the qualifications to be helped to die. “But the State ignores me. “At this point I choose deep and continual sedation even though it will prolong the agony for those who love me”.
Euthanasia continues to be a highly controversial subject as it questions some fundamental legal and philosophical issues.
