In this video is presented the point of view of a Al-Jazeera journalist on the case of the Piergiorgio Welby, Italian man that Welby was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of 17 and last year, after the disease got worse, wanted to stop his sufference, by refusing medical treatment, not by doing suicide.
Welby used the Internet as his primary mean of communication by posting on web forums and, since 2003, on his own blog.
On September 22, 2006, Welby sent an open video-letter to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. It was shown on national television and made available for downloading on the Internet, describing his condition and explaining his desire to die. Napolitano answered he felt deeply touched by Welby’s situation, inviting Italian politicians to a parliamentary debate on this and similar complex ethical issues.
On a controversial move, Roman Catholic Church didn’t allow a religious funeral, officially declaring that: “Welby had repeatedly and publicly affirmed his desire to end his own life, which is against Catholic doctrine.”
A civil funeral was celebrated in a public square in Rome.
