Slovenians reject euthanasia legalization law in referendum

Voting at a polling station during Slovenia’s euthanasia referendum, 23 November 2025. Photo: AP Photo/Darko Bandic

On 23 November 2025, Slovenia held a referendum in which citizens rejected a law legalizing euthanasia. The vote followed an intensive public campaign against the initiative, according to the Associated Press.

The law envisaged that mentally competent people, who have no chance of recovery or are facing unbearable pain have the right to assisted dying. This meant that patients would administer the lethal medication themselves after approval from two doctors and a period of consultation.

Based on partial results, 53% of voters opposed the law’s entry into force, while 47% supported it. This decision automatically suspends the act passed by Parliament in July for at least one year.

Slovenia had been expected to join the group of European countries where “medical assistance to people in the final stages of illness to end life” is permitted, such as Switzerland and Austria.

However, a group of citizens with the support of the Catholic Church collected more than 40,000 signatures required to block the law and trigger a referendum. Notably, during a similar vote in 2024, 55% of Slovenians supported legalizing euthanasia, after which the law was adopted by Parliament.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the government of Uruguay legalized euthanasia.

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