MILAN (ITALPRESS) – In Lombardy, the first case of medically assisted suicide was recorded fully managed by the Regional Health Service. The association Luca Coscioni, reporting that it is the third person in the region who has had access to the voluntary assisted death procedure, but of the first ever case in which public health has directly organized and curated the entire actuative phase.
The Regional Health Service has in fact taken charge of every operational step, including health care, the supply of the drug and the necessary equipment, as well as the identification of the structure in which to proceed. The interested person, Domenico Zuccarella, aged 59 and suffering from secondaryly progressive multiple sclerosis, died yesterday, 25 August.
Because of the progress of the disease, man was able to barely move his left hand. The note of the Luca Coscioni Association highlights however strong delays in the application of the procedure. Zuccarella had submitted its official request to the Asst Ovest Milanese on 8 November 2025.
From the forwarding of the application to the actual implementation, 290 days (over nine months) have passed, in front of the regional guidelines issued on 13 May 2026 which provide a total maximum period of 145 days (about four months and three weeks).
In order to exceed the months of waiting, silences and difficulties, the legal board of Domenico Zuccarella, coordinated by the lawyer Filomena Gallo (national secretary of the Luca Coscioni Association), had filed an urgent appeal to the court at the end of May.
The legal action required that the condition verification procedure be completed in time compatible with the patient’s health and that, in case of a positive outcome, the operational phase for suicide assistance was set up.
-Photos of repertoire IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
