L’attivismo delle Regioni sul fine vita: un esempio di uso strategico della legge

This article examines recent Italian regional legislation on medically assisted suicide as a case of legislative activism and legal mobilization. In a context of prolonged parliamentary inaction, Regions have been prompted by a coordinated civil society initiative to adopt laws aimed at making end-of-life rights more effective and at putting pressure on the national legislature. The article reviews the main constitutional objections raised against these initiatives, analyzes the laws adopted by Tuscany and Sardinia, and critically discusses Constitutional Court judgment no. 204 of 2025, which partially struck down the Tuscan law. It argues that, although the Court formally recognizes a regional role in the field of health protection, its decision signals a more restrained judicial approach than in its earlier case law, and that this restraint is used to limit the ability of regional legislation to challenge the status quo. At the same time, the article shows that Regions still retain some room to pursue their original aims through a renewed strategic use of their legislative powers, which may offer a model extendable well beyond the field of end-of-life rights.