Euthanasia :: Euthanasia advocate Welby dies in Italy

Piergiorgio Welby, 60 years old, an advocate for euthanasia, suffered from muscular dystrophy for 40 years, died in Italy, after being taken off a respirator.

For three months, Welby had been asking for his life support machine to be switched off. But euthanasia in Italy is illegal and just recently, he had lost a legal battle to have his respirator switched off.

Welby suffered from muscular dystrophy and in recent months his conditions had worsened. He was confined to bed, fed through a tube and communicated through a computer that read his eye movements.