A quadriplegic man has become the first to die by assisted suicide in Italy, with his heartbreaking final words indicating he was at peace with his decision.
Federico Carboni, 44, reportedly described in his last remarks how he had to depend on others “for everything,” and his “future prospects” were grim, according to The Christian Post.
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He also purportedly expressed being mentally and physically exhausted and said he was “sorry to leave life,” voicing his belief he had done all he could to survive with his disability.
“I do not have a minimum of autonomy in everyday life, I am at the mercy of events, I depend on others for everything, I am like a boat adrift in the ocean,” Carboni is quoted by Associazione Luca Coscioni (Luca Coscioni Association), the pro-assisted suicide group that defended him. “I am aware of my physical condition and future prospects, so I am totally calm and calm about what I will do.”
Carboni, who worked as a trucker, became a quadriplegic 12 years ago during a traffic accident.
He later fought a public battle for assisted suicide, going by the pseudonym “Mario” before his name was officially released after his death, USA Today reported.
The Luca Coscioni Association widely sees Carboni’s case as having the ability to lead others to make euthanasia a reality in their own lives. Filomena Gallo, a representative for the organization, said in a statement Carboni knew his case would have an impact.
“Federico wanted to exercise his right to free choice in Italy,” she said. “And he was aware that his resistance would be a right, a freedom, exercised for everyone.”
Carboni’s death followed a two-year legal battle, as Italy technically permitted assisted suicide in 2019 when the nation’s Constitutional Court ruled doctor-assisted suicide wasn’t a crime so long as specific conditions were met.
But with no parliamentary framework or official legislation governing assisted suicide, it was unsettled.
According to the Telegraph, local authorities prevented Carboni from engaging in euthanasia. After a battle and fundraising to obtain the drugs needed, he tragically ended his life last Thursday.
It should be noted that Italy is a place where fierce debate ensues over doctor-assisted suicide, especially as the Roman Catholic Church, which is housed within the nation’s borders, opposes assisted suicide on moral and theological grounds.
Christians generally see intrinsic value in God’s creation, believe the Lord created life — and do not see a viable excuse for humans to take that life by assisted suicide or any other means.
Many have said assisted suicide is about terminal illness, though this case proves the parameters of euthanasia extend well beyond those confines.
“Note that the patient who killed himself was not terminally ill, but paralyzed — illustrating the fact that assisted suicide isn’t about terminal illness,” Wesley Smith wrote of the death in National Review. “Rather, it is a philosophy that sees death as a proper and empowering response to suffering caused by serious disease, disability, mental illness, and the morbidities of old age.”
Smith also notes how disability advocates oppose legalizing assisted suicide over the fear that people with disabilities are the intended target of those seeking euthanasia’s advance. Read more of his commentary here.
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