The obligation of the physician to save the life of the detainee on a hunger strike: the opinion of the Italian National Bioethics Committee.
V. 175 N. 2 (2024), Letter
V. 175 N. 2 (2024)

The obligation of the physician to save the life of the detainee on a hunger strike: the opinion of the Italian National Bioethics Committee.: doi: 10.7417/CT.2024.5041

Letter
Pubblicato 2024-04-02
M. Ottaviani
Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
G. Delogu
1Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
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Parole chiave

legalmedicine
detention
hunger strike
human rights

Abstract

The Cospito case has highlighted a widely debated bioethical issue regarding the need to choose between safeguarding the life of a detainee and their right to self-determination through the practice of a hunger strike. Recently, the Italian National Bioethics Committee has been called upon to give an opinion on this matter. On the other hand, the media resonance of this case has shed light on the need to pose an ethical and social question regarding such situations: does the physician have an obligation to protect the detainee's health at the expense of their free choice? To be able to answer, it is necessary to understand whether law no. 219/17 is applicable to this context.

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