I Am Missing From My Life. A Casuistic Study About Physician-Assisted-Suicide: A Roadmap Toward Italian Legislation

Physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is a matter of considerable debate in Italy, where a national law does not exist yet while the Constitutional Court issued several judgements on the matter, delineating the contours of the non-punishability of PAS. The prolonged delay in legislative regulation led to a fragmented national landscape, and in the absence of official data, it is crucial to collect reliable case data. A retrospective observational study was conducted on patients who requested PAS in various local areas across Italy, from January 2022 to August 2025. Twelve cases were collected. Underlying diseases prompting the PAS request, duration of disease, reported care provided, level of pain control, assessments by the local health authority and the Ethics Committees, and final outcome of the procedure were analyzed. Despite the modest number of patients in absolute terms, a sample potentially representative of the Italian reality has been retrieved. Most of PAS requests are initiated by patients with neurodegenerative disorders, showing decline of independence, autonomy, and self-control. An existing PC pathway was present in approximately two-thirds of PAS applicant. This would offer the opportunity for some considerations, also in light of the draft law currently pending in the Italian parliament.