Slovenia Votes in Repeat Referendum That Could Decide Fate of Assisted Dying Law

Slovenians began voting on Sunday in a repeat referendum that will decide whether a law legalising assisted dying will take effect or be suspended. The measure, approved by parliament in July and endorsed by voters in a 2024 referendum, was reopened after opponents collected enough signatures to force a new vote.

Under the law, lucid terminally ill patients would be allowed medical assistance to end their lives when their suffering is judged unbearable and all reasonable treatment options have been exhausted. The legislation would also permit assisted dying when treatment offers no real prospect of recovery or improvement, but it explicitly excludes ending suffering caused solely by mental illness.

A civil campaign backed by the Catholic Church and the conservative parliamentary opposition gathered about 46,000 signatures, surpassing the 40,000 needed to trigger the repeat referendum. By rule, the law will come into force unless a majority of voters reject it and those opposing represent at least 20% of Slovenia's roughly 1.7 million eligible voters — about 340,000 people.

Polling stations opened at 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT) and will close 12 hours later. First partial results were expected late on Sunday.

Voices at the Polls

At Ljubljana's Stozice sports hall — the country's largest polling station — voters expressed contrasting views. Romana Hocevar, a 63-year-old pensioner and stage-four cancer patient, said she supported the law because she did not want to endure prolonged suffering, recalling relatives who suffered from cancer and dementia. A 24-year-old student, Vid Ursic, welcomed the chance to vote on an important social issue and said he supports individuals' right to decide about their own lives. Others, like Marija Unuk, said they oppose the measure because they favour a "culture of life".

Prime Minister Robert Golob, who cast an early ballot, urged citizens to back the law so that "each of us can decide for ourselves how and with what dignity we will end our lives." The opposition campaign group, Voice for the Children and the Family, accused the government of trying to use the legislation to "poison" the ill and elderly. The Catholic Church said legalising assisted dying "contradicts the foundations of the Gospel, natural law and human dignity."

Public Opinion and Wider Context

A recent Dnevnik poll based on 700 responses found 54% of respondents backed legalisation, 31% opposed and 15% were undecided. In June 2024 support was recorded at about 55%. If voters reject the law in this repeat referendum, parliament is barred from passing legislation on the same subject for 12 months.

Approaches to assisted dying vary across Europe: Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland permit forms of assisted dying for terminally ill patients, while in other countries it remains a criminal offence even in cases of extreme suffering. Related debates are progressing elsewhere — for example, France's lower house approved a right-to-die bill in a first reading in May, and the UK parliament is also discussing similar proposals.