Face of Italian right-to-die campaign dies


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Thursday December 21, 2006

Rome- Piergiorgio Welby, a terminally-ill patient whose request to die had turned him into the frontman of an Italian campaign to legalize euthanasia, has died, activists said Thursday. "Welby has finally been freed from his torture ... he passed away last night," said Marco Pannella, whose Radical Party has been championing the highly controversial right-to-die campaign.

Welby, who was 60 years old, had been battling degenerative muscular dystrophy for the past 40 years.

He could no longer move or eat on his own and had been breathing through a respirator.

He remained mentally lucid, however, and before losing his ability to communicate had asked doctors and Italy's president, Giorgio Napolitano, to be allowed to die.

His request sparked a lively debate on the legalization of euthanasia, which has split Catholic Italy.

Recent surveys have shown that the majority of Italians are in favour of legalizing euthanasia. But the Vatican insists that life is sacred and should be safeguarded from its conception to its "natural end."

Only hours before his death, medical experts consulted by the government had ruled out allowing doctors to switch off his life support machines, arguing that he wasn't in any imminent danger of dying.

Under Italian law, doctors risk prosecution if they assist in a death. At the same time, patients have a right to decline forced medical treatment.

Welby's case has highlighted a legal vacuum that needs to be addressed, Health Minister Livia Turco said earlier this week.

Pro-euthanasia activists had recently threatened to pull the plug themselves.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency