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Doctors violated law that guarantees medical care to all including illegal immigrants
A 20-year old Ghanaian girl recently went for abortion in a Treviso hospital but was arrested and given an expulsion order to leave Italy because she was in the country illegally.
Mr. Luca Migliorini of the Trevigiano Police Station said: "We were called by the hospital to come and intervene in the identification of a patient without documents. At that point the police officers checked and found out that the girl didn't have the Permit of Stay. Since there were no free rooms at the detention centres, an expulsion order was issued."
But there is something extremely wrong here because the Italian Constitution guarantees the right of medical care to all in the country, including illegal immigrants. The hospitals must also respect the patient's privacy and are banned by law from disclosing to the police the illegal immigrants who seek medical care unless there is a crime involved. This is what Article 35 of the Italian Immigration Law (dall'articolo 35 del Testo unico sull'immigrazione) says.
The hospital's action was strongly condemned by Dr. Aldo Morrone, Director General of the National Institute for the promotion of migrants' health and the control of poverty-related diseases.
He said: "The law in force absolutely bans reporting illegal immigrants to the police unless there is a crime involved. In order to identify the patient, it is enough for the patient to self-certify his/her personal data and it is not necessary for the patient to have a fixed abode. Anyway, I hope there is an explanation of what happened, because if it happened as it seems, it would be very serious. The doctor only has the duty of safeguarding the person's health."
What happened to this Ghanaian girl is a serious case that can lead to serious medical problems in the country.
"If illegal immigrants think that they risk expulsion, out of fear, they'll not go to the pronto soccorso. In this way they put their own health and the health of others in danger," said Dr. Morrone. "Some diseases can worsen, be spread and the patient can even die for having failed to seek medical care," Dr. Morrone added.
He said such a thing can happen to many illegal immigrants who work in the construction sector. Abortion, Dr. Morrone said, is usually sought by women who have been raped.
Dr. Morrone said it is very important to make the law known to all (that all in the country, including illegal immigrants have a right to medical care). "It is for the interest of public health. And it would be grave if the law were to be violated by the doctors."
Two Senators have called the government's attention to this case and demanded for urgent action.
Ms. Donatella Poretti and Mr. Marco Perduca asked the ministers of Labour and Home Affairs to take appropriate and urgent action to guarantee privacy and prevent illegal immigrants who seek medical care in hospitals from being punished for being in the country illegally.
"What happened at Treviso sets a grave precedent, and requires urgent action," said Senator Poretti. She said it is necessary for Italy not to impede the access of illegal immigrants to hospitals. She said such measures have already been adopted by other countries and gave an example of the USA where the law bans immigration officials from entering the hospitals.
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