Rosaries, slogans and women on ventilators bring Veneto’s end-of-life battle outside the chamber

Outside Veneto’s regional council, the end-of-life debate took on a very physical form. There were wheelchairs, rosaries, Luca Coscioni Association badges and pro-life T-shirts showing an intubated woman beneath the words “No euthanasia” and “No deep sedation.”

The two camps gathered as lawmakers inside the chamber argued over the bill. One side followed ultraconservative Catholic activist Alberto Zelger. The other included Marco Cappato and volunteers from the Coscioni Association. Police had suggested separating the groups between two areas of Palazzo Ferro Fini because of fears that the confrontation could deteriorate, particularly among the determined pro-life activists.

Zelger arrived inside the building after a street demonstration, carrying a megaphone. He told journalists that the ultimate aim of the opposing side was to eliminate everyone over 70, according to the account. Waiting there was Cristina Gheller, the sister of Stefano, who had become the public face of the popular initiative behind the bill. Gheller has the same illness as her brother. Luca Faccio, a blogger and activist living with spastic tetraparesis, also took part.

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Selfishly, my first reaction was, ‘No, I want to have you here with me.’

Gheller stayed at the building until 5:30 p.m. She spoke about the moment her brother said he wanted access to medically assisted suicide. “Selfishly, my first reaction was, ‘No, I want to have you here with me,’” she said. Her family has been marked by profound suffering, but she remains determined to continue the campaign her brother began.

She has not decided whether she would seek medically assisted suicide herself. The prospect of intubation frightens her, she said, but the fear of being unable to choose how to die is greater. Faccio, accompanied by his wife Annalisa, made the same argument repeatedly: “We are not taking anything away from anyone, each person will be able to decide for themselves.”

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We are not taking anything away from anyone, each person will be able to decide for themselves.