The Italian Chamber of Deputies has approved the text of a bill on the so-called biotestamento (Living Will). This bill will now be debated in the Senate. A Biotestamento has nothing to do with euthanasia.
Italian legislation on Biotestamento is divided into two parts: the first, more general part, deals with giving informed consent on medical treatments and on filling in DATs (disposizioni anticipate di trattamento, the Italian for anticipated instructions for treatment), through which a person may indicate wishes in relation to the medical treatments he/she intends to be subjected to when he/she is no longer conscious due to an accident or to an illness. (more…)