A court ruling effectively legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide in Italy is "deeply concerning and disappointing", a pro-life campaign group has said.
A court in Italy this week ruled that people could be helped to die where they are suffering from an irreversible condition and experiencing "intolerable suffering".
The court determined that those who assist someone with an "irreversible pathology" to commit suicide should not face punishment.
The ruling was made in relation to Marco Cappato, a pro-euthanasia activist who was facing charges after assisting in the suicide of 40-year-old tetraplegic Fabiano Antoniani in Switzerland.
The verdict has been criticised by several politicians, including Northern League leader Matteo Salvini, who said he would never agree to "suicide by law", and Senator Simone Pillon, who said: "Human life is sacred and inviolable."
Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, said: "This is deeply concerning and disappointing news. According to media reports this Court has, at a stroke of the pen legalised both assisted suicide and euthanasia, against the will and strong opposition of many in Italy.
"Alarmingly, this ruling seems to allow for those with chronic, non-life threatening conditions, which in the UK would apply to around 11 million people.
"The current law exists to protect the terminally ill, disabled people and the vulnerable from feeling pressure, real or perceived from ending their lives as we often see in those places that made this change."
