Advance Directives — Italian Style

Donald Carroll (of counsel, Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati, Rome) and Christine Marciasini (attorney, Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati, Rome) have written an article entitled Advance Care Directives: Florida, Italy and the Holy Grail of Wishes, abanet.org.

Here is a summary of the article:

Terri Schiavo and Eluana Englaro, two young women in persistent vegetative states, have riveted the respective attention of the U.S. and Italian public as their very personal and painful stories were broadcast to the world, while courts and legislatures in both countries have strained to define the conditions under which life sustaining medical measures may be terminated legally. While the former case was U.S. based with Florida law applicable, the latter is taking place on Italian soil and adjudicated applying Italian law. The Schiavo case took eight years of litigation, while Englaro has racked up nine years of litigation and her case may just now be reaching resolution. Different cultures and different legal systems – but these cases come together over the right of an individual to have a choice over his or her care – and to die with dignity. One of the most interesting aspects of these cases is the way in which the courts have struggled to ascertain what health care Terri Schiavo or Eluana Englaro would have wanted, implicitly letting the public know through in their opinions how valuable it would have been to have had the patients’ wishes on health care in writing.