First assisted suicide in Lombardy within the National Health Service, which the law (still at a standstill) seeks to exclude

Lombardy has recorded its first case of assisted suicide entirely managed by the regional health service. The person in question is Domenico Zuccarella, aged 59, who was suffering from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and died on 25 August after receiving assistance from the Lombardy Regional Health Service. As the Luca Coscioni Association explains, he is the third person in Lombardy to have accessed voluntary death, and the first case in which the regional health service organised the entire implementation process, including the necessary medical care, medication and equipment, as well as identifying the location where the procedure was to take place. It is precisely the role of the National Health Service that is one of the most hotly debated points in the end-of-life bill, which has been stalled in the Senate for months; the text finalised by the ruling majority specifically provides for the exclusion of the National Health Service from assisted suicide procedures. The right to end one’s life for terminally ill patients has so far been governed by a number of rulings by the Constitutional Court, which, since 2019, has also called on Parliament to legislate on this sensitive matter as soon as possible; however, no consensus has yet been reached.

Whilst a national law is still pending, three regions have approved – following the decisions of the Constitutional Court – regional legislation on end-of-life care: the first was Tuscany, followed by Sardinia and Emilia-Romagna.

Domenico Zuccarelli, who was from Giussano in the Milan area, had submitted a request for assisted dying to the ASST Ovest Milanese on 8 November 2025. It took 290 days – over nine months – from the submission of the request to its actual implementation, according to the Coscioni Association, which assisted him, despite regional guidelines stipulating a maximum total duration of 145 days for the procedure. After months of waiting, reminders and formal notices, Domenico’s legal team, coordinated by solicitor Filomena Gallo, national secretary of the Luca Coscioni Association and his defence counsel, had lodged an urgent appeal with the court at the end of May, requesting that the procedure be concluded within a timeframe compatible with the progression of his illness, and that, in the event of a positive outcome, the implementation phase be effectively organised as well. On 23 June, during the hearing, Domenico had expressed to the judge the burden of the wait: “I’m tired, I can’t take it any more.” Domenico’s journey came to an end within the Lombardy Regional Health Service, which went beyond merely verifying eligibility criteria. The public health service also organised the implementation phase: healthcare staff available on a voluntary basis, the necessary medication and equipment, a method of self-administration suited to Domenico’s condition, healthcare support, and the location where he could carry out his choice. The man finally arranged to donate his body to scientific research.

“To prevent the procedure from taking so long, and also to prevent a future Health Councillor from undoing everything with the stroke of a pen, it is essential that the Regional Council approves the ‘Liberi subito’ citizens’ initiative bill”, emphasise Filomena Gallo and Marco Cappato, national secretary and treasurer of the Luca Coscioni Association.

“The Region did not publicise this case out of respect for the patient’s wish that his death should not be exploited or used for political ends. Since others have, regrettably, decided to make it public, we can confirm that the process was carried out in full compliance with regional guidelines and the principles established by the rulings of the Constitutional Court”. So said the Welfare Councillor, Guido Bertolaso, on the assisted suicide in Lombardy carried out by the health service. “Turning such a deeply personal matter into a tool for a media battle shows a lack of respect for the individual, their wishes and their dignity.” “On such sensitive issues”, such as end-of-life care, “I believe that the institutions”, adds Bertolaso, “have a specific duty: to apply the rules, guarantee rights and, above all, respect people and their choices, without exploiting the situation”.