Italian actress dies by assisted suicide in Switzerland after portraying Italy’s laws as unfair

A Roman actress has died by assisted suicide after leaving her home country of Italy to die in Switzerland. But before her death, she recorded a message in which she portrayed the lack of access to assisted death in Italy as unfair.

Actress and director Sibilla Barbieri was 58 years old and had been battling cancer for 10 years. Vanity Fair Italy reports that she was dependent on oxygen therapy and pain medications that would allegedly cause a painful death if she were to stop taking them. She requested to die by suicide in July but her application was rejected by the health authority because it said she was not dependent on life-sustaining treatment as necessary to qualify for assisted death.

Filomena Gallo, her attorney, said Barbieri was told her “current conditions are not consistent with intolerable physical suffering.” Her healthcare provider agreed, saying that her health status did not fulfill the requirements.

So Barbieri went to Switzerland to die. But before she died, she created a video which was posted online by Luca Coscioni, her son’s pro-assisted suicide organization, which included her statement that there is “very serious discrimination between cancer patients and those who also find themselves in other non-terminal conditions.”

She continued, “For this reason, I freely decided to get the help by going to Switzerland because I have the necessary 10,000 euros and can still go physically.” She said it was unfair that other sick individuals in Italy could not die by choice because they couldn’t afford the high cost.

READ: Ethical issues abound as Australian woman’s organs are donated after assisted suicide

Euthanasia is a criminal offence in Italy, but an Italian Court in 2019 ruled assisted death is not a crime under certain circumstances, and said some terminally ill persons could request assisted suicide, which is when the doctor provides deadly drugs that the person self-administers. In 2022, A paralyzed man named Federico Carboni was Italy’s first legal assisted suicide death, aided by Luca Coscioni, Barbieri’s son’s organization. The group has aided at least five Italians in their quest for approval to kill themselves despite there being no legislation officially legalizing assisted death in the nation.

As previously reported by Live Action News, a terminal illness is classified as a health condition which cannot be cured, and which is expected to cause the death of the patient at some point in the future. But it is important to note that there is no time limit on when the terminal illness is expected to cause death. Advocates of assisted suicide consistently use fear and ableism to make assisted suicide appear to be the most ‘dignified’ and viable option.

However, statistics have found that the vast majority of those who commit assisted suicide make the decision to die due to a fear of losing autonomy, and of not being able to enjoy their usual activities. Other studies have found that people fear being a burden on their loved ones. However, palliative and end-of-life care are available for anyone who is dealing with a serious health condition, and they help to improve the person’s quality of life.