US EditionSlovenians reject in a referendum a law on assisted dying for terminally ill patients
About 53% of voters rejected the law with a 40.9% turnout, suspending implementation for at least one year amid opposition citing constitutional and ethical concerns.
- On November 23, 2025, Slovenian voters rejected the law to legalise assisted dying, with about 53 percent of 1.7 million eligible voters against it, suspending implementation for at least one year.
- Parliament had approved the law in July after a nonbinding referendum last year, but opponents backed by the Catholic Church gathered more than 40,000 signatures to force a repeat vote.
- The law would have allowed lucid, terminally ill patients to self-administer lethal medication after approval from two doctors and excluded people with mental illnesses.
- Turnout was 40.9 percent, just enough for the no vote to meet the threshold, as no-votes represented at least 20 percent of 1.7 million eligible voters and Slovenian Parliament cannot re-vote for 12 months.
- Several European countries already allow assisted dying, polls showed 54 percent support ahead of Sunday’s vote, and advocates vowed to pursue future legislation.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Slovenia Rejects Referendum Legalizing Assisted Suicide
In an apparent change of mind, Slovenians have opposed an assisted suicide law after a binding referendum rejected legislation that was passed by their National Assembly earlier this year, as well as a non-binding referendum in support of assisted suicide the previous year. On Sunday 23 November, 53.44% of Slovenians who cast a vote in the referendum voted against implementing an assisted suicide Act passed in the country’s National Assembly in …
"Unfortunately, people who would never use this law have managed to make it impossible for those of us who would," he wrote.
The results of Sunday's referendum cannot be completely mapped to the left and right, as the issue of assisted suicide focuses on ethical dilemmas on which voters are not entirely unified, according to political scientist Tomaž Deželan.
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