Italy to pass 'right to be forgotten' law for cancer survivors - PM
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[June 14, 2023]
ROME (Reuters) - Italy will pass a law on the "right to be
forgotten" (RTBF) for cancer survivors, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
pledged on Tuesday, in a move designed to shield recovering patients
from discrimination by banks or insurance companies.
According to campaigners, there are more than 900,000 cancer survivors
in Italy who may face difficulties when taking out insurance or a loan,
or applying for adoption, because of their health history.
Meloni said in a statement that her government was looking "very
carefully" at draft laws on RTBF, and said she had tasked Health
Minister Orazio Schillaci to follow their progress through parliament
and offer them the "necessary support".
"Our goal is to have in place in the shortest time possible a law that
can give answers to an extremely real problem that greatly affects the
lives of many Italians," the prime minister added.
The proposals would allow recovering cancer patients not to share
information about their previous condition with financial institutions,
or adoption authorities, provided that 5-10 years had passed since the
end of their medical treatment.
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A patient is seen during a stereotactic
radiotherapy treatment at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro
FBF, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rome,
Italy May 25, 2020. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo
Similar laws are already in place in
France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, according
to the Italian Medical Oncology Association (AIOM), which is
campaigning for the reform.
(Reporting by Federica Urso, editing by Alvise Armellini and Sharon
Singleton)
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