Slovenia rejects assisted suicide legalization referendum

Slovenian voters have blocked a new assisted suicide law that their national lawmakers approved earlier this year.

On Nov. 23, 53.44% of voters said no to putting the Assisted Voluntary End of Life Act into law. Only 46.56% backed the measure.

The vote came after the National Assembly passed legislation in July that would have legalized it and more than 40,000 citizens responded with a petition demanding a referendum on the matter.

The petition reflected deep concerns about the direction of end-of-life policy in a country where many residents already say the health system does not meet basic needs. 

Medical leaders in Slovenia raised strong objections to the law before the vote. They argued the state should strengthen care for the sick and elderly instead of creating an avenue for doctors to participate in ending life.  

One family doctor warned the law would arrive while the system is failing many patients.  

“This law comes at a time when 150,000 people have no family doctor – instead of basic care, the state is offering help with suicide,” family doctor Dr Polona Campolunghi Pegan said in a joint statement issued by the Slovenian Medical Association and Medical Chamber. 

Specialists in palliative care also opposed the proposal. Dr Maja Ebert Moltara said patients tend to want comfort and support when they receive proper care.  

“Patients ask us to help them live with dignity, not die; when we control pain and support them, the wish for death almost always disappears,” Moltara said.  

Ethics officials raised similar concerns. Dr Božidar Voljč said the law contradicted longstanding medical principles.  

“This law ethically splits Slovenian healthcare and the medical profession; doctors should ensure a peaceful natural death with palliative care, not actively participate in death,” he said. 

Commentators noted the vote will prevent another attempt to legalize it for at least 12 months.  

Wesley J Smith, senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center, said the outcome matches what happens when the public learns more about the issue.  

“I have long believed that the more people learn about assisted suicide, the less they support it,” Smith wrote in a National Review column. 

Assisted suicide or euthanasia is legal in a limited number of countries, almost all of them highly secular. The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Colombia, Austria, Germany and Switzerland permit some form of assisted dying under specific conditions. 

Every Australian state has approved voluntary assisted dying. Eleven U.S. states and the District of Columbia allow what is called “Medical Aid in Dying,” starting with Oregon’s 1997 law.