Vatican weighs in on assisted dying after Veneto law: ‘Fewer weapons and more palliative care’

“Fewer weapons and more palliative care.” That is the message from Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, after Veneto passed a regional law on end-of-life care.

Speaking to Avvenire, Pegoraro said Italy should require every citizen to be offered a path to palliative care. The state would also need to find the funds to provide it. Italy already has a good palliative-care law, he said, but those who present themselves as defenders of life must also pay for its implementation.

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Fewer weapons and more palliative care.

Pegoraro rejected the existence of “any right to assisted suicide.” At the same time, he said the state had an obligation to care for people and to respect an individual’s decision not to receive treatment.

The debate has gained urgency after Veneto’s legislation. Public Administration Minister Paolo Zangrillo said Parliament should act so that families facing such a dramatic situation would not have to study the rules of different regions to find the one most suited to them. A national framework, he argued, could also prevent health-care tourism.

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There is no right to assisted suicide.

Zangrillo noted that three center-left regions and one center-right region had moved on the issue. That showed, he said, that end-of-life policy did not belong to one ideological camp but was a concern shared across the political spectrum.

He said Parliament should consider the issue while recognizing the profound questions involving individual conscience and sensitivity. The Constitutional Court has already issued several rulings, Zangrillo said, but he argued that the matter should not be left to the court or to individual regions. Italy needs a national law that respects different convictions while establishing a common path.

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The end-of-life issue is a concern shared by everyone.