Lombardy – For the first time in Lombardy, a case of assisted dying was organized entirely by the public health service. Domenico Zuccarella, a 59-year-old man from Giussano who suffered from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, died on August 25 after the responsible health authority, Asst Ovest Milanese, had handled all steps of the process.
Zuccarella had filed his request in November 2025. In May, a medical commission confirmed that he met the four requirements established by the Constitutional Court in 2019 in the so-called Cappato/DJ Fabo case for assisted suicide without criminal liability: an irreversible illness, suffering that he found unbearable, dependence on life-sustaining treatment, and the mental capacity to make a free and informed decision. Subsequently, an ethics committee reviewed the case separately. A total of 290 days elapsed before the procedure took place—more than twice as long as the 145-day deadline stipulated in the region.
What is new about this case is not the ruling itself, but its implementation: Until now, those affected or organizations such as the Associazione Luca Coscioni usually had to arrange for staff, medication, equipment, and a suitable location for assisted suicide on their own. In the Zuccarella case, for the first time, the health authority itself took full responsibility for the entire process, including the medical staff who volunteered to assist.
What is the legal basis for euthanasia in Italy?
To this day, Italy has no specific national law on assisted dying. The legal basis remains the 2019 Constitutional Court ruling, which established that assisted dying is not a criminal offense under the four specified conditions, without prescribing a specific procedure for it. Because the legislature has remained inactive, only three regions have enacted their own rules so far: Tuscany, Sardinia, and, as of July 2026, Emilia-Romagna. Lombardy is not among them, but it follows its own administrative deadlines for reviewing such applications.
How is the case being assessed?
The Associazione Luca Coscioni, which had supported Zuccarella in his request, classified the case as the third instance of assisted suicide in Lombardy and the first to receive full support from the health care system. At the same time, the organization criticized the length of the proceedings and is promoting its legislative initiative „Liberi Subito,“ which aims to establish uniform and shorter time limits nationwide. Guido Bertolaso, the Lombardy regional health commissioner responsible for the case, stated that the procedure had fully complied with constitutional requirements and spoke out against the media’s exploitation of the case.
