Martina Oppelli, a 50-year-old multiple sclerosis sufferer from Trieste who was denied permission to commit assisted suicide in Italy three times, was assisted in taking her own life at a clinic in Switzerland on Thursday, the Luca Coscioni right-to-death association said.
Oppelli had been denied access to the procedure in Italy as the health authorities said her case did not feature 'reliance on treatments of vital support' - one of the conditions laid down by the Constitutional Court in a 2019 ruling that stated assisted suicide is legal in some cases.
Before her death, Oppelli appealed to Italian lawmakers to pass legislation to enable people in her sort of situation to end their lives in a video message.
"Dear parliamentarians and fellow citizens...
More than a year ago I made an appeal to all of you that a law be enacted and passed, a sensible law that regulates end of life, that brings the life of all people, the sick and elderly, to a dignified end," she said.
