Trieste resident Martina Oppelli, 50, filed a criminal complaint against her local health authority (Azienda sanitaria universitaria giuliano isontina – Asugi) via her legal representative before traveling to Switzerland for assisted suicide. Marco Cappato, treasurer of the Luca Coscioni Association, announced the legal action during a Trieste press conference.
Oppelli, who suffered from multiple sclerosis for over 20 years, accused Asugi of two primary crimes: refusal to perform official duties and torture. She had received three formal rejections for medically assisted suicide access from Asugi.
The Coscioni Association stated Oppelli challenged Asugi’s past refusal to reassess her health status, claiming a new evaluation represented “unnecessary costs”. This prompted Oppelli to file an urgent 2024 appeal with the Trieste court, which ordered Asugi to conduct new assessments.
Critically, Asugi allegedly failed for over two years to recognize Oppelli met the constitutional requirement of “dependence on life-sustaining treatments” – one of four criteria established by Italy’s Constitutional Court Ruling 242/2019. This was despite her total reliance on caregivers, a cough assist machine, and, in recent weeks, a urinary catheter. The association contends this disregarded the constitutional ruling.
Oppelli further alleged Asugi “not only denied her a right but caused unnecessary suffering, inflicting physical and psychological harm legally constituting torture”. She described being a “victim of inhuman and degrading treatment by institutions that ignored her suffering,” forcing her to endure “years of extreme pain.” This situation was allegedly worsened by Asugi’s “repeated and unjustified refusal” to grant legal access to assisted death.
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