By: Dr Metod Berlec
At the memorial ceremony in Sorica under Ratitovec on Sunday, SDS president Janez Janša reminded that we live in a country “whose constitution states that human life is inviolable.” “And we included that paragraph when drafting the constitution precisely so that the tragic times, to which the memorial plaque bears witness, would never be repeated.”
The words spoken at the 80th anniversary of the exile and brutal killings of the parishioners of Sorica by the post‑war communist authorities are more than just remembrance, they are a warning. A warning that truth has, despite everything, triumphed over the enforced forgetfulness maintained for decades. The battle of memory was in this case won, but as a nation we must ask ourselves: on which side of history do we stand – on the side of the culture of life or the culture of death?
Today this dilemma no longer appears in the form of communist violence, but in legislative attempts by their political successors, who under the guise of compassion open the door to the culture of death. The draft law on assistance in voluntary ending of life is precisely such an attempt. Its advocates present it as an expression of individual freedom, but in reality, it is a dangerous relativisation of a fundamental constitutional value – the inviolability of human life. If the battle of memory against forgetfulness was won, as Janša reminded on Sunday, today a new battle is being fought: the battle to preserve respect for life. A law that legalises assistance in ending life – that is, assisting suicide – would mean that the Slovenian state actively legitimises intervention in life as something permissible. This is no longer a matter of personal choice, but a matter of our Christian civilisational foundation.
The memory of Sorica teaches us that crimes cannot be denied – though some may try to justify them. Just as violence was once justified, for decades the premature ending of unborn life has been legally permitted and justified, and now the premature ending of adult life as well. But the truth remains: life is a gift that we cannot and must not arbitrarily discard or write off. Despite low birth rates and the fact that in recent years more people have died in Slovenia than have been born – a demographic winter – Slovenia must remain committed to the culture of life. To demographic renewal. The constitution binds us to the principle that life is inviolable. And if as a nation we managed to preserve the memory of the darkest times of our history, we must today also preserve and defend respect for life – from its beginning to its natural end.
Therefore, next Sunday, November 23, 2025, it will be essential to vote against this controversial law. In doing so, we will also vote against the harmful Golob government and against the neo‑socialist coalition of Freedom Movement, SD, and Levica, which is leading Slovenia in the wrong direction – toward regression and collapse. A vote AGAINST the law is a vote for the culture of life, for respect of the constitution, for the nation, and for a positive Slovenian future.