A disciplinary case against a doctor who granted a request from a terminally ill patient to turn off his life-support system was officially shelved on Thursday.
A special 14-man panel set up by the local chapter of the Order of Physicians unanimously concluded that the conduct of anesthetist Mario Ricci had been "exemplary" when, on an explicit request from terminally patient Piergiorgio Welby, he administered a sedative and disconnected a respirator which had kept him alive for many years.
Welby, who suffered from advanced muscular dystrophy, had become the focus of a national debate on a patient's right to refuse life-sustaining therapy.
In announcing the panel's conclusions, the local chapter president Andrea Bianchi said that while the case of Ricci's behavior had been resolved, there remained the problem of "a legislative void regarding living wills".
Welby's wife Mina said in Rome that she had expected the decision and was glad that Ricci had been cleared.
"I'm glad for Dr. Ricci because he had helped Piergiorgio have a peaceful death, surrounded by those who loved him and love him still," she said.
"A doctor must also help his patient to die in peace, and for Piergiorgio he made this possible," she added.
Days before Welby's death, a Rome court ruled earlier in December that while Welby theoretically had the right to refuse his life-sustaining medical therapy, this right could not be exercised because there was no legislation explicitly enshrining it in Italian law.
Italy's Supreme Health Council (CSS), which advises the health ministry, later said that the artificial respirator which was keeping Welby alive could not be considered an aggressive or disproportionate form of therapy.
This was a blow to Welby, part of whose legal action had rested on the argument that the continued use of the respirator was excessive because his life had become a form of torture.
The Catholic Church had argued against Welby's right to refuse therapy and denied him a church funeral.
A non-religious funeral ceremony for Welby in Rome on December 24 drew over 1,000 people.
A poll taken last month showed that 68% of Italians were in favour of granting terminally ill patients the right to end their suffering in certain circumstances.
Less than a quarter, 23.5%, were opposed to the practice no matter what the circumstances, while 8.5% were uncertain.
The poll, carried out by the Eurispes research group, also found that 26.3% of Italians thought euthanasia was already being secretly carried out by doctors in Italian hospitals, even though only 6% said they personally knew of any such cases.
The Italian Senate is currently looking at eight bills aiming to legalize "living wills", legal documents in which a person dictates treatment preferences in the event of an incapacitating illness, allowing him or her to reject excessive life-prolonging treatments.
