STORY: Slovenia will on Sunday vote in a referendum that could legalize assisted dying for some terminally-ill adults.
Marijan Janzekovic, who lives in a town east of the capital Ljubljana, supports the bill.
His wife Alenka Curin-Janzekovic was wheelchair-bound and in pain for years from diabetes-related illnesses.
In 2023 they traveled to a Swiss clinic to end her life.
“When you drink one deciliter (3.4 fl. oz.) of this medicine, you see bright colours. After my wife drank it, we held hands and in five minutes she was gone. It was the end. Painless, quick and both of us were ready for this. We talked about this a lot, because we needed a few years to get to this point.”
Marijan says he does not regret his wife’s decision, though wishes they had found an effective treatment so “she would still be with me.”
The law passed by the Slovenian Parliament earlier this year would allow terminally ill adults facing unbearable suffering, with no prospect of improvement, to end their lives with the help of medical professionals.
But a citizens’ initiative led by a right-wing politician forced a referendum, the results of which will be binding.
Opponents like Catholic Archbishop Stanislav Zore call the law unjust and inhumane, arguing it violates Slovenia’s constitution.
“And let’s work on those things we can, but on which we do nothing–on palliative care, on caring for the sick, on caring for those who are dying, but not offering them suicide.”
The law will be rejected if a majority of participating voters oppose it, on condition they constitute at least 20% of the electorate.
Slovenia’s law stipulates a two doctors’ approval, cooling-off periods, and self-administration of the medication.
Assisted dying is already permitted in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and several U.S. states.
Britain’s lower house voted to legalize it earlier this year, though the bill awaits approval in the upper parliament chamber.