The bill passed with 50 votes in favour, 34 against, and three abstentions in the country’s parliament, following months of heated public debate and a 2023 consultative referendum in which 55% of voters backed the measure.
Slovenia, Europe: Slovenia has officially joined a growing list of countries permitting assisted dying after lawmakers on Friday passed a landmark law giving terminally-ill adults the right to end their lives if they face unbearable suffering with no hope of recovery.
The bill passed with 50 votes in favour, 34 against, and three abstentions in the country’s parliament, following months of heated public debate and a 2023 consultative referendum in which 55% of voters backed the measure.
Slovenia now joins countries like Australia, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as well as several U.S. states, where assisted dying is already legal under strict medical guidelines. Just last month, Britain’s parliament voted to legalize assisted dying, though its proposed legislation still awaits approval from the upper chamber.
Under Slovenia’s new law, terminally ill patients will only qualify if all treatment options have been exhausted, and crucially, the law explicitly excludes cases where suffering is purely linked to mental illness, according to Slovenia’s national news agency, STA.
While supporters hailed the move as a victory for compassion and dignity, opponents vowed to keep fighting. A prominent civil society group opposing the law announced plans to mobilize public support to force a referendum aimed at overturning it.
The new legislation underscores a broader shift in Europe and beyond, where debates over the rights of the terminally ill continue to challenge traditional ethical, legal, and religious boundaries.
According to the Bill, a person is terminally ill if he has an inevitably progressive illness, disease, or medical condition that cannot be reversed by treatment, and his death in consequence of that illness, disease or medical condition can reasonably be expected within 6 months. Medications that can only alleviate the pain of a terminally ill patient do not alter the definition of the patient as terminally ill. According to the Bill, a person is not considered terminally ill if he has only a mental disorder.
Under the proposal, two doctors (a coordinating doctor and an independent doctor) must independently assess the request at least seven days apart to confirm that the individual meets the required conditions. These conditions include, among other things, having a clear, settled, and informed wish to end their own life, being a resident of England or Wales, and making the decision voluntarily, free from coercion or pressure.
If both doctors agree that the criteria are satisfied, the individual can apply to the High Court for approval. Upon approval, a 14-day reflection period would follow. After this period, the applicant must make a second declaration to formally request assistance to end their life.
If the doctor remains satisfied that the applicant meets the criteria outlined in the Bill, a life-ending “approved substance” would be prescribed, which the individual would self-administer.
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