A referendum in Slovenia is set to decide whether to permit assisted dying for some terminally ill adults, following the parliamentary passage of a euthanasia bill that was challenged through a citizens’ initiative.
Under the proposed law, lucid yet terminally ill patients would gain the right to end their lives if their suffering were deemed unbearable and all treatment options exhausted. The bill, approved by parliament in July, would require the sanction of two doctors, include a cooling-off period, and demand self-administration of the lethal medication. A citizens’ initiative led by right-wing politician Ales Primc forced the referendum, under which the law will be rejected if at least 20 per cent of the electorate votes against it.
Supporters frame the law as an affirmation of personal autonomy and dignity in end-of-life care. Prime Minister Robert Golob urged voters to back the change so individuals can decide “how and with what dignity we will end our lives”. Meanwhile, the opposition – including the political group Voice for the Children and the Family and the Catholic Church – denounces the measure as inhumane and argues it undermines the constitutional protection of life.
The referendum sits amid a broader European trend: several nations, including Austria, Belgium, Netherlands and Switzerland, already allow various forms of assisted dying. Polls published shortly before the vote in Slovenia suggest approximately 54 per cent of citizens support the bill, 31 per cent oppose, and 15 per cent remain undecided.
The outcome will determine the immediate fate of the law passed by parliament but the deeper question remains unsettled: how will Slovenia balance medical safeguards, societal values and the precedent set by broader European policy?
