Slovenia assisted-dying law: Slovenian voters have overturned a new assisted-dying law in a referendum held on Sunday, according to preliminary results from the country’s election commission.
With almost all ballots counted, around 53% of voters rejected the law, while about 46% supported it. Under Slovenia’s rules, for a referendum to succeed, the “no” side must not only win a majority of valid votes but also represent at least 20% of all registered voters, a threshold that was met.
Turnout stood at just under 41% of the country’s roughly 1.7 million eligible voters, officials said.
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“Compassion has won,” said Ales Primc, a conservative campaigner who led the drive against legalising assisted dying. He accused the government of promoting “health, pension and social reform based on death by poisoning” and hailed the result as a clear rejection of that approach.
The law, adopted by parliament in July, would have allowed mentally competent adults with no realistic chance of recovery, or who were enduring unbearable suffering, to request assistance in dying. Patients would have been required to administer the life-ending medication themselves, following approval by two doctors and a mandatory counselling and reflection period. People with mental illnesses alone would not have been eligible.
Supporters, including Prime Minister Robert Golob’s liberal government, argued that the measure would give terminally ill patients the option to end their lives on their own terms and with dignity.
“This is not a political issue, it has always been a matter of dignity, human rights and individual choice,” Golob said in a written statement after the vote, adding that although the bill had been rejected, “the challenge we are addressing remains.”
Opposition to the law came from conservative organisations, some medical groups and the Catholic Church. Critics said the legislation conflicted with the spirit of Slovenia’s constitution and warned that the state should focus instead on expanding access to quality palliative and end-of-life care.
Parliament had originally passed the law after a previous nonbinding referendum indicated public backing for the idea. However, Primc and other opponents gathered more than 40,000 signatures to trigger Sunday’s binding vote. The result means the law is now suspended and cannot take effect.
Advocates of assisted dying expressed disappointment but said they believed the debate in Slovenia had shifted and that similar legislation would eventually return.
Slovenia is one of several European Union countries to have confronted the question of assisted dying in recent years. Several states, including neighbouring Austria, have already introduced some form of legal framework for physician-assisted death or euthanasia, while others continue to wrestle with the ethical, medical and legal implications.
