ITALY’S REGIONS are fomenting a quiet rebellion on the contentious issue of the right to die. In September Sardinia became the second of them, after Tuscany, to approve a new regional law regulating medically assisted suicide. Umbria is expected to follow soon. The moves come after a ruling in 2019 by Italy’s constitutional court that in effect legalised doctor-assisted suicide under certain conditions, but urged parliament to legislate on the issue. The hard-right national government is attempting to reassert control of the issue by introducing a bill, currently being debated in the Senate. A total of 11 people have been helped to commit suicide in Italy since the ruling, and polls suggest Italians generally support reform.