Slovenia referendum rejects assisted dying law for terminally ill adults

After critics launched a campaign against the law, Slovenians rejected it in a referendum that allowed terminally ill adults to end their lives.

According to preliminary results released by the election authorities on Sunday, about 53% of the 1.7 million eligible voters voted against the proposed legalization of assisted dying.

The law’s implementation will be suspended for at least a year as a result. Following a 2024 referendum, the Czech Republic’s parliament approved the law in July, which allowed assisted dying.

However, a civil organization with the support of the Catholic Church and the conservative parliamentary opposition managed to collect more than the 40 000 signatures needed for a repeat vote.

The results were welcomed by Ales Primc, the head of the non-voting organization Voice for the Children and the Family, who claimed “solidarity and justice” had prevailed.

“A miracle is occurring here.” Following the vote, Primc declared that the cult of death had been defeated.

If terminally ill patients’ suffering was intolerable and all treatment options had been exhausted, they would have had the right to assist in dying under the disputed law.

If treatment offers had no reasonable chance of regaining or improving the patient’s condition, but it also prevented intolerable suffering from mental illness, assisted dying would have been permitted.

According to Prime Minister Robert Golob, “everyone can decide for themselves how and with dignity we will end our lives” and that they should support the law.

However, the Catholic Church claims that allowing assisted dying “violates the principles of the Gospel, natural law, and human dignity.”

55% of the population supported the law in June 2024.

Just enough to pass the required 40.9 percent in the referendum on Sunday to pass.

Many European nations, including Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, allow those who are terminally ill to receive medical care. However, it continues to offend in some people, even in times of great suffering.