Compassion wins - Slovenia rejects assisted-dying legalization

According to preliminary results from the electoral commission, about 53% voted against the measure, while nearly 46% supported it. Turnout reached approximately 41%, and the number of "no" votes exceeded the required threshold of 20% of all eligible voters.

The law, passed by parliament in July, would have allowed mentally competent patients with no chance of recovery or suffering unbearable pain to self-administer life-ending medication, following approval from two doctors and a mandatory consultation period. It excluded people with mental health conditions. Supporters, including the government of Prime Minister Robert Golob, said the bill would have given severely ill individuals the option of a "dignified end of life."

Opponents - conservative groups, parts of the medical community, and the Catholic Church - argued that the law violated the Constitution and could devalue human life. Aleš Primc, leader of the campaign against the law, stated after the referendum that "compassion has prevailed" and that the country had rejected "a welfare-state reform based on death by poisoning."

Following the referendum, the law’s implementation is suspended. Despite the defeat, Prime Minister Golob emphasized that the issue remains unresolved: "This is not about politics - it is a matter of dignity, human rights, and personal choice." Advocates hope that legislation may eventually be revised.

President Nataša Pirc Musar urged citizens to participate more actively in referendums, stressing their role in democracy: "We have the right to tell politicians what we consider right or wrong."

Had the law passed, Slovenia would have become one of the few EU countries to legalize euthanasia; similar frameworks already exist in Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, and several others. For now, Slovenian society has decided it is not ready for such a change.