In Italy, advance health care directives are a subject of considerable
debate in both legal theory and practice. This debate focuses in particular not only on the appropriateness of approving ad hocstatutory reg ulations but also on the extent to which similar advance indications of
a person’s wishes are applicable under the existing legal system, albeit
in the absence of a law regulating them. The authors of this paper consider, in particular, guidelines relating to the possible use of the mech anism of support administration (amministrazione di sostegno) (Law
No. 6/2004) as a procedure to be used for the legal recognition of
advance health care directives, particularly in the light of the legal provision for the possible designation in advance of a support administrator by a beneficiary in anticipation of an eventual situation of incapacity. This underlines how the concept of health does not only exist in
the abstract, but must be measured in relation to the particular patient
in the particular situation and how beneficence and respect for autonomy are both essential elements in the choices aimed at promoting the
health and the wellbeing of its citizens.