By Borut Zivulovic
SVETI TOMAZ, Slovenia (Reuters) – Slovenia will vote on Sunday on a law proposing the legalization of assisted death for some terminally ill adults, following other European countries that have made the change.
The parliament of the small European Union member passed the law in July, but a citizens’ initiative led by right-wing politician Ales Primc forced a referendum on Sunday, the results of which will be binding.
Supporters of the law, which allows assisted suicide for adults who face unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement, say it will relieve unnecessary pain. Those against say that society should take care of the sick, not help them die.
Marijan Janzekovic, an 86-year-old who lives in the town of Sveti Tomaz, east of Ljubljana, supports the bill.
His wife Alenka Curin-Janzekovic was wheelchair-bound and in pain for years from diabetes-related illnesses before he took her to a Swiss clinic in 2023 to end her life.
“She was in a wheelchair … and in such pain my heart ached just by seeing her,” he told Reuters, looking at her photo on his phone and picking up a pendant with her ashes.
‘I WILL TAKE IT FOR THE SICK AND THEY WILL DIE’
Opponents say the law is inhumane and violates Slovenia’s constitution, which declares human life inviolable. The Catholic Archbishop Stanislav Zore said that the state should focus on palliative care instead.
“Let’s take care of the sick and the dying, but not offer them suicide,” he said.
The law will be rejected if the majority of participating voters oppose it, with the condition that they constitute at least 20% of the 1.692 million electorates.
Assisted dying is already allowed in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and several US states. Britain’s Lower House voted to legalize it earlier this year, although the bill awaits approval in the upper house of parliament.
The Great Britain bill allows assisted suicide only for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live, approval of two doctors, judicial supervision, and self-administration of medication.
Slovenian law is similar. It requires the approval of two doctors but also cooling periods, and self-administration of the medication.
Along with terminal conditions, the Netherlands and Belgium both cover non-terminal diagnoses such as psychiatric illness, and allow physician-administered euthanasia, along with assisted suicide.
Maria, a resident of Ljubljana, aged 25, said that the doctors’ opinions should prevail: “If they are against, there is definitely something for it.”
In contrast, Bruce Milord, 44, said he planned to vote ‘yes’.
“Everyone has the right to decide about their life and death.”
(Reporting by Borut Yivulovic and Antionio Bronic, Writing by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Edward McAllister and Ros Russell)