Slovenia rejects law proposing assisted dying for terminally ill adults

Based on preliminary referendum results, on November 23, Slovenia rejected a proposed law that would have permitted terminally ill adults to opt for 'assisted dying.' 

Key Takeaways:

• With nearly 41% voter turnout, voters in Slovenia rejected a law that would have legalized 'assisted dying.'

• The law would have allowed mentally competent adults with terminal illnesses to end their lives by assisted dying with the authorization of two doctors and a consultation period.​

The Details:

Around 53% of voters resisted legalizing assisted dying, while 46% supported it. The no-votes represented over 20% of 1.7 million eligible voters in the country, which is required by the election rules, Yahoo News reported. 

Turnout was almost 41%, according to the State Electoral Commission. 

“Compassion has won,” proclaimed Aleš Primc, a conservative activist who spearheaded the movement resisting assisted dying, in remarks cited by Euronews. “This is a big victory for the disabled, the sick and the elderly, because people said today that they are not a burden, but loved and respected,” Primc added. "We are witnessing a miracle. The culture of life has defeated the cult of death."

Likewise, the opposition Slovenian Democratic Party, which strongly opposed the legislation, lauded the law's defeat.

The Catholic Church, medical associations, and conservative groups led the campaign against the proposed law, contending that assisted dying undermines human dignity and the inherent value of life.​ 

Following the recent referendum results, these groups “celebrated the result as a defence of the sanctity of life and a rejection of what they called a dangerous slippery slope toward the devaluation of vulnerable patients”, according to EuaLive. 

What the legislation would have allowed

The proposed law, initially passed by parliament in July 2025 following a previous referendum that demonstrated support, was put on hold for at least one year after the November 23 vote. 

The proposed legislation would have allowed mentally competent adults with terminal illnesses to end their lives after the authorization of two doctors and a consultation period.​ This piece of legislation can be likened to the assisted dying bill passed by the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament in June 2025. 

Had the assisted dying bill been passed into law, Slovenia would have become the sixth EU member state – after Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain, and Portugal – to fully legalize euthanasia, and the 10th European jurisdiction when including Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Germany, which allow several kinds of of assisted dying under certain conditions.

Media outlet Aljazeera stated:

Britain’s bill permits assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live, the approval of two doctors, judicial oversight and self-administration of the medication. Slovenia’s law would require the approval of two doctors but also cooling-off periods and self-administration of the medication.

The Bottom Line:

The outcome of the referendum reveals the power of civic engagement and the influence of moral arguments in impacting public policy on life and death issues. This decision will likely spur further efforts to boost palliative care and support for terminally ill patients in Slovenia.​