Referendum on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Between False Autonomy, Systemic Withdrawal of Treatment, and Economic Pressure

After decades of expert debate and political disagreement regarding the legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, the current Government of the Republic of Slovenia decided in 2025 to draft and adopt (October 21, 2025) the new Law on Assistance in Voluntary Termination of Life. The rapid legislative momentum does not so much reflect moral progress, but rather a reflection of a systemic process of withdrawing treatment and concealing successful therapeutic alternatives, with a non-negligible role played by latent economic factors. The referendum question is therefore no longer just a question of mercy, but reveals whether we, as a society, will legalize the replacement of curative and holistic medicine with assisted death. On Sunday, November 23, 2025, the Act on assisted voluntary termination of life was rejected in a referendum by a narrow margin. But for other reasons that voters had, not the ones explained in this essay. The government must respect the referendum decision for one year. Then the cycle can be repeated.

Keywords: Referendum, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, legalizing the Right to Die