Marilyn Thipthorpe
In the 5th century BC, on the island of Delos, the earliest prohibition of death was recorded. According to records it was stated that a person could not die due to religious causes. Since then countries like France, Japan, Brazil and Spain due a variety of causes, have also announced in certain area that dying is forbidden. The main reason given by certain officials and spokesperson is that there is insufficient burial ground to bury the dead.
Sellia, a small village in the town of Calabria in Italy, has recently followed this step and has recently passed a law that prohibits dying. The cause is simple- the town populated has fallen from above 1500 in the late 60’s to an all time low of barely 500, where most of the residents are above 65. A drastic solution was needed to put the brakes on this depopulation. The new law requires each and every citizen to have regular health checkups and follow a healthy lifestyle in order to be exempt from the 10 Euro health tax. Those who do not follow the law have to pay extra taxes!