Admissibility of the «Liberi Subito» law in the Piedmont Regional Council
Date of the event:
On 10 November 2026 the Bureau of the Piedmont Regional Council, meeting at Palazzo Lascaris, gave the go-ahead on the receivability and admissibility of the popular bill «Liberi Subito», concerning medically assisted suicide. The president of the Regional Council, Davide Nicco, stated that the vote is not “a judgment on the content, nor an assessment of the constitutionality of the individual provisions”, but “a preliminary check that allows the bill to continue on its path”. The text now moves to examination by the competent council committee and, subsequently, to the full Council [1][2].
The signature drive
The bill, promoted by the Associazione Luca Coscioni, was signed by around 16,000 Piedmontese citizens, resident in 626 municipalities, with the help of more than 200 volunteers and 186 collection points across the region. The signatures, submitted in September 2026, are double the minimum number required to put forward a popular bill. Signatories include the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, and the jurist Gustavo Zagrebelsky [2].
Previous attempts
A first similar initiative had been put forward in 2023, with more than 11,000 signatures collected in Piedmont. In March 2024 the Regional Council had approved a preliminary objection on constitutional grounds that blocked discussion of its merits. The legal picture changed with Constitutional Court ruling no. 204 of 2025, concerning the Tuscan law, which recognised that regions may regulate the organisational and procedural aspects of the healthcare service connected with medically assisted suicide, without touching on criminal and civil law matters reserved to the State [2].
Content of the bill
The text does not introduce a new right to medically assisted suicide, nor does it change the conditions set by the Constitutional Court, but aims to make access to it effective through the regional health service. It provides for the creation, in every Piedmontese health authority, of a standing multidisciplinary medical committee made up of specialists in palliative care, psychiatry, anaesthesia, psychology, forensic medicine and nursing, tasked with verifying applicants' eligibility together with the competent ethics committee. The services envisaged would be free of charge, with the aim of avoiding unjustified delays relative to the patient's clinical condition [2].
The political context
The Lega Piedmont has backed the bill, as it previously did in Veneto. Forza Italia has not declared itself against the measure, but has asked that it be Parliament, at national level, that legislates on the matter. The case of Alan, the first Piedmontese person to gain access to medically assisted suicide after an eight-month wait from the ASL and the regional health service, was recalled during the signature drive [2].
Sources
- TorinoOggi — 10 November 2026
- CronacaQui Torino — 10 November 2026