A new referendum on assisted dying in Slovenia, a few months after it was legalized by parliament
Illustrative image, source: Damir Senčar | Dreamstime.com
Slovenians are expected to go to the polls again in November to vote on whether or not to support the right to assisted death, which was legalized by parliament in July, reports AFP.
Several European countries, including Switzerland and Austria, already allow terminally ill people to receive medical support to end their lives, and Slovenia was set to join them after a vote by parliament in July.
However, on Friday, parliament called a national vote for November 23 after a civil society organization, backed by opposition conservatives, collected the 40,000 signatures needed to call a referendum.
In the referendum, voters will decide whether the legal act legalizing assisted dying will be implemented.
The legislation gives lucid, terminally ill patients the right to be helped to die if their suffering is unbearable and all treatment options have been exhausted.
It also permits assisted dying if treatment offers no reasonable prospect of recovery or improvement in the patient's condition, but not to end unbearable suffering resulting from mental illness.
In the first referendum held in Slovenia on this topic in 2024, 55% of voters supported assisted death.
However, national law allows civil groups, which collect at least 40,000 signatures from citizens, to demand a new vote on laws passed by parliament.
For the referendum to be successful, a majority of voters present at the polls, representing at least 20% of eligible citizens, must vote against the law.
Source: Damir Senčar | Dreamstime.com
