Category World News

After other European nations have made the change, Slovakia is currently deciding whether to legalize assisted dying for some terminally ill adults.

A citizen initiative led by right-wing politician Ales Primc forced the referendum on Sunday, despite the small European Union parliament’s passage of an euthanasia bill in July.

If at least 20% of electors cast ballots in favor of the bill, it will be rejected. 1.69 million people elect Slovakia.

The bill’s supporters claim it will lessen the pain that is unnecessary. The sick should be taken care of by those opposed to that society rather than assisted dying.

Many European nations, including Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, already permit terminally ill people to receive medical care to end their lives.

What do Slovens propose?

lucid but terminally ill patients would have had the right to die under the disputed law, which was scheduled to go into effect this year if their suffering had become intolerable and all other treatment options had been exhausted.

The assisted dying bill was approved by the British Parliament in June. The bill in Britain permits the medication’s self-administration, judicial review, and the consent of two doctors for terminally ill adults who have less than six months to live.

Slovenia’s law would call for the medication’s self-administration, cooling-off periods, and approval of two doctors.

According to a poll conducted by the Dnevnik daily this week and based on 700 responses, about 54% of citizens support the legalization of assisted dying, while almost 31% oppose it, and 15% are undecided. 55% of people in support of the law in June 2024.

What are the opinions of the supporters?

According to Prime Minister Robert Golob, “everyone has the right to choose how and with dignity we will end our lives,” he urged people to support the law.

Marijan Janzekovic, an 86-year-old resident of the town of Sveti Tomaz near Ljubljana, also supports the bill.

Before she ended her life at a suicide clinic in Switzerland in 2023, his wife, Alenka Curin-Janzekovic, was suffering from diabetes-related illnesses.

He told the Reuters news agency, “She was in a wheelchair and in such pain that watching her made my heart hurt.”

What are opponents’ opinions?

The government is accused of using the law to “poison” the elderly and the sick, according to Voice for the Children and the Family, the main political group that opposes it.

The law, according to opponents, is cruel and violates Slovenia’s Constitution, which guarantees the rule of human life.

Stanislav Zore, the state’s Catholic archbishop in Slovenia, said palliative care should be the focus instead.

He urged people to take care of the sick and dying but not commit suicide. Euthanasia is not favored by the Catholic Church.

What other nations offer assisted dying?

In Australia, New Zealand, Canada, several states in the United States, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, assisted dying is already permitted.

In most US states, assisted dying laws are typically centered on medical care, including those in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and a few other states. These countries typically require that patients have a two-hour evaluation by two independent doctors and be terminally ill.

Instead of having a doctor prescribe lethal medication directly, the patient is required to self-administer it in many of these nations. These régimes place patient autonomy and strict procedural safeguards, such as waiting periods, above all else.

The practice of assisted dying is permissible in Portugal, Belgium, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Even if the patient is not terminally ill, it is permissible to perform euthanasia or other doctor-administered medical care in specific circumstances of intolerable suffering.

Only assisted suicide is permitted in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, as opposed to active euthanasia, is permitted. Switzerland is an exception because there is no established euthanasia regulatory framework, which entitles non-residents to access the service through organizations.

Which other nations are currently weighing laws governing assisted dying?

A “right-to-die” bill was approved by the French National Assembly in May. Adults over the age of 18 who are citizens or residents and suffer from “incompressible” physical or psychological conditions and “intolerable” illnesses could ask for lethal medication.

Before a a , reflection period , must be conducted before the prescription of a lethal substance, according to the bill, a , medical team  A doctor or nurse may be able to assist if the patient is physically unable to self-administrate.

People with severe psychiatric conditions or neurodegenerative conditions, such as advanced Alzheimer’s disease, are exempt from the proposal. Before it can become law, the bill must now pass the Senate and go back to the National Assembly for a second reading.

In another country, the lower house in the country approved the legalization of assisted dying. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a significant step toward legalizing assisted dying in England and Wales, was narrowly approved by the House of Commons.

The bill would allow mentally ill adults who have less than six months to live to request medical care to end their lives. The results would be determined by two doctors and a panel that included a psychiatrist, a lawyer, and a social worker.

Shel Shel, a Palestinian folk song by local musician Ahmed Muin Abu Amsha, was performed by children from the Gaza Nuseirat Choir, which was popular earlier this year when local music teacher Ahmed Muin Abu Amsha played the drone-like sound of Israeli drones in the background.

Haytham Ali Tabatabai, the country’s top military commander, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the capital of Lebanon, according to Hezbollah.

At least five people were killed in the attack on an apartment block in southern Beirut on Sunday, according to Tabatabai, the group’s chief of staff.

Hezbollah released a statement claiming that “the great commander” Tabatabai was killed in an “a dangerous Israeli attack on the Haret Hreik area in the southern suburbs of Beirut” without stating what his organization’s position was.

Tabatabai is the most senior Hezbollah leader to have been killed by Israel since the start of a ceasefire in November 2024, which aims to put an end to the conflict’s more than a year.

Tabatabai was the target of the attack, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s earlier statement. According to Israeli media, this was the military’s third attempt to kill him since the end of the war last year.

Mahmoud Qmati, a senior Hezbollah official, previously claimed that the organization’s leadership was considering whether to take a countermeasure against Israel’s strike had crossed a “red line.”

He claimed that the assault on the southern suburbs today will lead to more assaults throughout Lebanon.

Tabatabai was the child of an Iranian father and a Lebanese mother in Beirut in 1968. He joined Hezbollah at the age of 12 after growing up in southern Lebanon.

28 people were also hurt, according to the Lebanoni government’s ministry of public health.

According to a report from Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA), two missiles were fired at the Haret Hreik apartment building and serious harm to nearby cars and structures.

Hezbollah is “in a difficult position,” he says.

According to Zeina Khodr, a reporter for Al Jazeera in Beirut, there is growing concern that Israel, “which has been acting with impunity,” will increase its strikes in Lebanon.

She said, “Hezbollah is in a difficult position.” Without a response, it might have increased the threat of Israeli attacks because it has lost its deterrence capabilities. However, if Israel does respond, it could start a bigger Israeli bombardment that might harm its base.

A major question now is how Hezbollah will respond, according to security affairs analyst Ali Rizk.

“In my humble opinion, I don’t believe Hezbollah is ready to give Netanyahu what he wants, giving him an excuse to start a full-fledged war with Lebanon once more,” Netanyahu said. That might improve Netanyahu’s chances in politics. He added that it might be very expensive.

Joseph Aoun, president of Lebanon, demanded a strong international response to put an end to Israeli attacks on the nation.

Aoun stated earlier on Sunday that Lebanon “reaffirms its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and take immediate and necessary action to put an end to the atrocities against Lebanon and its people.”

Hassan Nasrallah, a long-time Hezbollah leader, was killed by Israel in an airstrike in southern Beirut more than a year ago.

Given recent weeks of increased Israeli aggression, Pope Leo XIV is only a few days away from visiting the nation.

Israel has been attacking Lebanon throughout the region since the United States brokered the ceasefire agreement about a year ago, according to Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar.

According to him, “every attack on Lebanon crosses a red line, and this aggression is inherent in the person who violates Lebanon’s dignity, sovereignty, and the security of its citizens.”

Israeli attacks have been carried out repeatedly.

Beirut has not been hit in the past few months despite Israel’s nearly daily attacks on southern Lebanon and its frequent attacks on it.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reports that at least 13 people have died as a result of an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp this week.

According to the state-run NNA, a drone struck a car in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp’s car park on the outskirts of Sidon on Tuesday.

Lebanon has been subject to constant Israeli and US pressure to disarm Hezbollah.

By the end of the year, the Lebanese military had approved a plan that the government had approved in September. Israel continues to bomb the nation and occupy parts of the south while Hezbollah has refused to do so.

At the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa’s first one, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the opening address. Because “shared goals outweigh our differences,” leaders “renewed commitment” to address global issues like inequality and climate change.