Assisted suicide in Italy: constitutional right or wishful thinking?

The Italian Constitutional Court has surprised many commentators by mak- ing a provisional decision declaring the crime of assisted suicide unconstitutional, un- der certain conditions. Before officially striking down the article of the criminal code, however, the Court (following the Canadian example) gave the Parliament one year to enact a comprehensive law on the topic. The deadline is running out and the pic- ture is far from clear: given the complexity of the legal system and the inertia of the Parliament, the right of sick and suffering people to be aided in taking their life is like- ly to remain, at least for a while, wishful thinking.