Laura Santi, a journalist and civil rights activist, passed away at the age of 50, choosing to end her unbearable suffering.
Suffering from an advanced form of multiple sclerosis, she decided to resort to physician-assisted suicide , after a long, tiring and painful process, also from a bureaucratic and judicial point of view.
By her side until her last moment was her husband Stefano . He shared Laura's pain and determination throughout the years of her illness and her battle for the right to choose how to die.
The news was announced by the Luca Coscioni Association, of which Laura was an activist and general councilor.
After years of disease progression and a final year of ferocious deterioration, "her suffering had become intolerable for her," her husband declared.
Laura's words, entrusted to the association, are a legacy of clarity, love, and courage: " Life is worth living, if one wants it, even up to 100 years of age and in the most brutal conditions, but it must be those of us who experience this extreme suffering who decide, and no one else."
Then, with gentle firmness, her farewell: "I am about to die. You cannot understand the sense of freedom from the suffering, from the daily hell I am now living. Or perhaps you can. Rest assured for me. I will carry smiles with me from there. I believe so. I will carry with me a wealth of beauty that you have given me. And please: remember me."
Hers was not an "easy choice," but a bitter and arduous conquest. Laura had to face years of legal battles to have a right recognized, a right enshrined by the Constitutional Court (ruling 242/2019), but still difficult to enforce in practice.
Three years after the initial request to the ASL Umbria 1, two reports, two warnings, an emergency appeal, and a complaint, he only received the final medical evaluation certifying his fulfillment of the requirements in November 2024. In June 2025, the medical board and the ethics committee gave their final approval.
A volunteer team of doctors and nurses was activated for the procedure, who respectfully and discreetly followed every phase of the self-administration of the drug .
Laura Santi's story tells of a will that never wavered, of a quest for freedom that confronted the slowness and silence of institutions. But above all, it is a living and clear testimony of what it means to truly self-determine.
"Never tire of fighting. I truly ask this of you. Even when the battles seem invincible," Laura wrote in her last message.