Slovenians defy elite-backed campaign, narrowly repeal euthanasia law in referendum. 53% vote to protect life in rare triumph of direct democracy.
Newsroom (24/11/2025 Gaudium Press ) In a striking demonstration of direct democracy, Slovenian voters on Sunday rejected a parliamentary law legalizing euthanasia, delivering a narrow but historic defeat to a measure backed by most political leaders and heavily funded advocacy groups.
The binding referendum, triggered by a citizen initiative, saw 53% vote against the law that would have permitted medically assisted suicide, while 47% supported it. Turnout exceeded 40% of the country’s 1.7 million registered voters, comfortably clearing the 20% participation threshold required for validity.
The law had been passed by the National Assembly in July under the center-left government of Prime Minister Robert Golob, who framed legalization as a question of personal dignity. “Each of us should be able to decide for ourselves how and with what dignity our life will end,” Golob said during the campaign.
Opposition came from a grassroots coalition led by the civic group Voice for Children and Families. In just weeks, organizers collected 46,000 signatures — well above the 40,000 needed — to force the issue to a popular vote.
Campaign dynamics were starkly asymmetrical. Pro-euthanasia forces enjoyed support from most parliamentary parties, substantial media coverage, and financing that dwarfed the opposition. A non-binding advisory referendum held last year had shown majority support for the concept.
The anti-euthanasia campaign relied largely on volunteer networks, door-to-door canvassing, and backing from the Catholic Church — which remains influential in the Alpine nation of 2.1 million, where 72% of citizens identify as Catholic — along with some conservative opposition parties.
Ales Primc, head of Voice for Children and Families, called the outcome “a miracle.” “The culture of life has defeated the culture of death,” he declared, adding that Slovenia had rejected government reforms “based on death and poisoning.”
Despite the victory, the referendum’s legal effect is limited: Slovenian law bars parliament from reintroducing an identical bill for one year. Critics of the result warn the government may attempt to bring back a similar measure after the cooling-off period expires.
The vote underscores persistent public resistance in parts of Central Europe to liberalizing end-of-life legislation, even as France and the United Kingdom debate similar reforms and Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland already permit euthanasia or assisted suicide under varying conditions.
For proponents of direct democracy, Sunday’s result — however fragile — served as a reminder that determined citizens can, on rare occasions, override elite consensus on deeply divisive moral questions.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Infocatholica
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