Domenico Zuccarella passed away at the age of 59 in Lombardy, northern Italy. While he died because of the multiple sclerosis that had plagued him for 17 years, the disease itself was not the cause of his death. His name will echo across the country, as Zuccarella became the first person to die by assisted death fully organized and administered by the public healthcare system. The question of self-determination has never left the public sphere, and for Zuccarella, it became a long and difficult ordeal — by the time he died on August 25, 290 days had passed before his request was finally honored. A house painter from Giussano, Zuccarella proved to be unwavering in his right to die. Since 2009, multiple sclerosis had been ravaging his body, stripping him of his mobility, and toward the end, he could only move three fingers on his left hand. He was unable to stand, and medication had become futile.
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Lombardy: “I can’t take it anymore”
He wanted to put an end to his suffering. “I have now lost almost all my strength. I am dazed by medications that don’t serve to heal me, but to keep me in a state of continuous, unbearable, and unacceptable pain,” he had described a few months earlier, as reported by Corriere della Sera. Initially, the Asst Ovest Milanese accepted a request for medically assisted death, but failed to process it as swiftly as it should have. The delay — which persisted even after formal legal notices were served — ultimately pushed his legal team, led by attorney Filomena Gallo, to file an emergency appeal with the courts.
The request was clear: the process should be completed within a timeframe compatible with the progression of his illness, and once the conditions were met, the practical implementation should be organized and carried out by the healthcare system. On June 23, during the court hearing, Domenico addressed the judge directly, speaking about the weight of waiting. “I’m exhausted. I can’t take it anymore,” he said.
The fourth assisted death
It was Lombardy’s Regional Health Authority that ultimately cut the Gordian knot — and it did so for the first time in history by taking full ownership of the entire process. Volunteer healthcare staff were identified, the necessary medication and equipment were secured, and a method of self-administration compatible with his condition was established. The required medical support and the location where the procedure would take place were also carefully arranged.
This was the fourth case in Lombardy of a person gaining access to voluntary death, and the first in which the Regional Health Authority took complete charge of the practical implementation stage, according to the Luca Coscioni Association, an Italian non-profit organization that advocates for individual freedoms and patients’ rights. Domenico retained full capacity to make free and informed decisions, and despite the severity of his condition, it was he who determined the path he wished to take. He had also decided to donate his body to scientific research, having activated the relevant procedure.
