The transposition of council directive 2013/59 into italian law

By the European Directive no. 2013/59 Euratom, the European Union has aimed to provide Member States with updated instructions in order to prevent damages possibly arising from radiations in health care, work and social settings. Among the most relevant amendments, the authors have found: a) the introductions of new defining criteria; b) the updating of some dosage related standards, such as the one about the threshold absorbed by the crystalline lens; c) a new set of rules for the measurement of emissions from devices and data management; d) a greater degree of clarity in ascribing liability to anyone involved in utilizing ionizing radiation-emitting devices. The paper outlines the Italian legislative state of affairs by delving into all relevant aspects of the current legislation, what has been put in place in the process of enacting the European Directive and the measures that could be suitable for future improvement

Recent Medico-Legal Developments on the Issue of Epilepsy and Driver’s License Requirements in the Italian and European Legislation

Epilepsy is a condition that comprises a group of neurological disorders characterized by seizures. Forms of epilepsy that produce abrupt bouts that cause lapses in consciousness may pose a major road safety problem for drivers who, while going through a seizure, could seriously harm themselves as well as others. A fundamental strategy for the purpose of reducing the risk of car accidents caused by epileptic drivers is constituted by prevention, in addition to adequate pharmacological therapies. In that respect, forensic medicine plays a pivotal role, since it deals with the set of requirements that must be met by those who have been diagnosed with epilepsy in order to get a driver’s license, and with the obligation to signal such individuals to the national Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (in Italian: Motorizzazione Civile). In that regard, the Italian legislative framework is partly hazy in some respects, which the authors have set out to analyze herein, taking into account recently issued European norms. The aim of this paper was to better understand the current Italian legislation in the matter of epilepsy and driver’s license requirements, especially regarding the medical criteria that must be met in order to obtain the driving license. The importance of those criteria is underlined by the fact that they directly influence (and are influenced by) the safety for the drivers and for the persons involved in car accidents. Thus, we can consider the issue not only strictly of medico-legal relevance but also from the standpoint of primary prevention. The analysis was conducted by reviewing the most recent documents of medico-legal relevance, in the light of European Union legislation. The authors have ultimately stressed the need for clearer and straightforward regulations, given that professional liability may arise whenever a driver’s license is issued, in disregard of legal norms, to an individual who then causes a road accident

Palliative care and the right to avoid suffering: patterns of care for the sake of the terminally ill

Deep sedation can only be administered for the purpose of countering otherwise intractable symptoms, and requires the informed consent from patients or their legal guardians or health care proxy holders. The patient’s illness needs to be at a terminal stage, or even, according to some, near death. In light of deep sedation’s main goal, which is to preserve the patient’s dignity, it is in our view excessive to limit it to those cases where death is near. There other tools that go a long way in avoiding an overuse of such techniques. First and foremost, it is necessary that such choices are always made in a proportionate and gradual fashion: deep and constant se dation should only be considered when becoming unconscious would be the “lesser evil”, that is when the pain is so unbearable that it makes it impossible for the patient to engage in any normally rewarding kind of activity. Moreover, doctors should be granted the option to refuse to put in place procedures that they deem to be disproportionate, even though the patients require them. In that respect, it is desirable that national legislators outline clearly-defined sets of rules designed to determine the rights of patients and their actual scope

Law n. 194, 18th May 1978, hlffiS forty: a positive record overall, despite lingering hurdles

The authors take stock ofa 2018 report to the ltalian Parliament by the ltalian Ministry ofHealth, highlighting how hard it stili is for ltaly to guarantee access to abortion services 40 years after the enactment of law n. 194/78. Despite constantly declining abortion rates, use of emergency contraception methods is on the rise, which leads to endometrial alterations and prevent the fertilized embryo from lodging into the matemal~womb, resulting in the forrner 's destruction. The paper aims to explore the issue of conscientious objection to abortion, seeking to strike a balance between the doctors' right to object and the women' s right to pregnancy terrnination. The authors set forth a reasonably feasible solution: amending the current legislation so that objeçting physicians would be compelled to abide by new rules, such as the so-cali ed duty to refer, Le. an obligation for such doctors to refer a patient seeking abortion services to another specialist or medicai facilities willing to provide it; various nations already have similar provisions and mandates in piace