(tthis online editorial) «When I read the words “favorable opinion”, I literally felt a weight slip from my shoulders. ALS lost, I won”. These are the words of Ada, a 44-year-old from Campania suffering from ALS, who received confirmation on 7 October that she possesses all the requirements to access assisted suicide. “I won’t spend one more minute being afraid of what he can do to me. From today only the present exists, and every day is precious. From today I am legally in control of my life and my body. I hope the same serenity for all the people who face the same condition as me, and who every human being may one day exercise this right without having to fight until his last breath. Thanks to those who listened to me, supported me and accompanied me on this journey.”
«ALS lost, I won». Ada’s words, after the ASL gave the green light to assisted suicide
Ada, when and if he wants, he can then proceed with assistance in voluntary deathin full compliance with the constitutional guarantees and the rulings of the Court (the “Cappato” ruling of the Constitutional Court no. 242/2019 and the subsequent rulings no. 135/2024 and no. 66/2025).
«Today Ada doesn’t simply receive a favorable opinion: she gets the full recognition of his constitutional right to decide on his own body and life», explains the lawyer Filomena Gallo, secretary of the Luca Coscioni Association and coordinator of the legal study and defense college of Ada. «The ASL, after the agreement reached in the Court of Naples, correctly and completely applied the Cappato ruling and the subsequent decisions of the Court, proceeding with the planned checks and starting the subsequent phases. This path demonstrates that, when institutions respect the law, it is possible to guarantee sick people a right that is not a privilege, but a free and conscious choice, recognized by our system.”
Ada in a frame of the video in which her sister Celeste reads her message
Ada’s story: the diagnosis of ALS in 2024, and the very rapid progression
In recent days, Ada, initially known by the name “Coletta”, had decided to emerge from anonymity, describing her situation in this video. To read his words, sister Celeste since Ada, affected by ALS diagnosed last year, he can no longer speak.
Following a very rapid course of the serious neurodegenerative disease she suffers from, diagnosed in June 2024, in fact, Ada can no longer speak and therefore has to use the eye pointer. He can’t even walk anymore and needs the continuous assistance of his family members to carry out any type of activity. Without his caregivers he would not be able to eat, drink, take pharmacological therapy and carry out his vital functions, he would die of starvation and in an atrocious and painful way.
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