Italy’s Lower house passed the RTBF (Right to be Forgotten) bill on Friday. This bill comes as a relief to thousands of Cancer survivors in Italy who have been denied loans and insurances in lieu of their past illness. The Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgi Meloni, had announced this bill on June 13 this year.
Cancer survivors and recovering patients have been facing a lot of hindrances in obtaining loans and insurances because of their medical history. This bill offers them the chance to not declare their past condition to banks and insurance agencies, to subvert any form of discrimination in future. This issue has hampered numerous long term deals initiated by people even if the person has been declared Cancer-free medically.
Among many such cases, Francesco and Laura shared their woes with a reporter from Euronews. Francesco, currently in his 30s, had been diagnosed with Cancer at the age of 18. He has been cured for over 15 years till now. Yet, his adoption plea along with his partner became a tedious task of repeated rejections because of his medical history.
For Laura, the bank was not ready to give her a loan to open a dance school. This denial of a long term mortgage broke all her dreams in minutes.
These two are among many other people who have been denied access to funds and amenities in Italy due to their condition. In Italy, this discrimination has impacted about 3.6 million patients, one-third of whom are declared Cancer free medically. With fast technological and medical advancement, rates for cancer survival are surging in the country. At a time like this, this bill becomes the need of the hour.
The bill was passed in the Lower house with a unanimous vote. Both parties gave a nod to the ordinance through mutual agreement and understanding. Marco Furfaro, the leader of the opposition from the Democratic Party, and one of the supporters of the bill, posted on his X (formerly twitter) account , stating that this bill will “restore dignity and hope” in the hearts of many people.
As per the law, a patient who has been declared cancer free for at least 5-10 years can choose to not declare his/her/their medical history. Those who were diagnosed with this illness before the age of 21 would only be required to wait for 5 years. Certain exemptions for more serious kinds of cancer like leukaemia, breast cancer and prostate cancer, the time period is extended to 15-20 years. The RTBF bill is a combination of the ‘right to privacy’ and the legitimate interest that a person needs to be forgotten or not be remembered for certain obsolete details.
The bill is yet to be passed in the Upper House of Italy, with similar laws functioning in countries like France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal. The organisation overseeing this appeal is the Italian Medical Oncology Association (AIOM).
