Denied relief in Italy, Roman actress opts for assisted suicide in Switzerland

Trigger warning: Some readers may find the details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised

Roman actress Sibilla Barbieri has ended her life in Switzerland. The 58-year-old actor and director last week chose assisted suicide across the borderafter authorities denied her request in her home country, Italy.

Why was Sibilla Barbieri seeking assisted suicide?

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As per Vanity Fair Italy, the actress was suffering from terminal cancer for 10 years. Barbieri was completely dependent on oxygen therapy and pain medications, which, if interrupted, would have led to a painful death.

Given the severity of her condition, she had requested assisted suicide back in July, but her application was rejected.

In mid-September, Barbieri's health company replied to her request, stating that the medical team had considered that the woman lacked the requirement of dependence on life-sustaining treatment.

Talking to the press, Filomena Gallo, the actress' lawyer, revealed that Barbieri was told that her "current conditions are not consistent with intolerable physical suffering".

The healthcare provider also said that her condition did not fulfil conditions established by the Constitutional Court in 2019 for such cases.

How the suffering woman chose to end her life

Denied the request, Barbieri chose to end her suffering in a foreign land. She was accompanied to Switzerland by her son and Marco Perduca, of the Luca Coscioni Association, which works for human rights and civil liberties.

In a videostatement addressed to 'all politicians' posted 19 hours ago byLuca Coscioni, Barbieri alleged of, "very serious discrimination between cancer patients and those who also find themselves in other non-terminal conditions."

"For this reason, I freely decided to get help by going to Switzerland because I have the necessary 10 thousand euros and I can still go physically."

"But all the other people condemned to die from an illness that they can't because they don't have the means, because they are alone, or they don't have the information, how do they do it? This is another serious discrimination which the State must remedy," she added.

Italy's assisted suicide law

In Italy, active euthanasia is a crime and a punishable offence under Article 579 (Murder of a consenting person) or Article 580 (Instigation or aid to suicide) of the penal code.

However, terminally ill patients can request assisted suicide, i.e. indirect help of a doctor to die. This was introduced in 2019 after a landmark judgement involving Fabiano Antoniani aka DJ Fabo, who, after a major road accident, was left tetraplegic — unable to voluntarily move the upper and lower parts of the body.

Marco Cappato, former member of the European Parliament, assisted DJ Fabo in availingmedically assisted suicide, by driving him to a Swiss clinic. Afterwards, Cappato was put on trial, but the Italian Constitutional Court urged the Parliament to decriminalise assisted suicide and the former MP was acquitted.

So far, with the support of the Luca Coscioni Association, five Italian citizens have received a green light for assisted dying.

(With inputs from agencies)