By: Slovenska medicinska akademija
On July 18th, 2025, the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted the Act on Assistance in Voluntary End-of-Life (ZPPKŽ), which defines assisted suicide as a new type of healthcare service within the public healthcare system. The law assigns responsibilities to the attending or substitute physician and a psychiatrist, responsibilities that were not previously coordinated with the medical profession or professional associations.
Despite the support of the majority of voters and members of the National Assembly, the Slovenian Medical Academy (SMA) maintains its position that the Act on Assistance in Voluntary End-of-Life (ZPPKŽ) is poorly conceived and inappropriately interferes with the relationship between patient and physician.
Doctors evaluate the law in a non-political, non-partisan, non-religious, and professionally autonomous manner. We do not allow anyone to attribute any position to us other than a medical-deontological one, supported by international regulations governing the duties of our profession.
One of the fundamental principles omitted from the law is the respect for the autonomy of physicians and other healthcare professionals. Professional autonomy is the foundation of medical responsibility, which is also defined by accepted ethical standards. These standards, concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide, are based on international documents such as the World Medical Association’s (WMA) Declaration of Geneva, first adopted at the General Assembly in 1948 and updated several times since, as well as positions of the WMA’s Ethics Committee, which bind doctors around the world. In addition, we must not overlook the fact that we live in an age of neoliberal consumerism, whose mindset can lead to euthanasia-related coercion (“euthanasic mobbing”), a concern also raised by the WMA.
The SMA finds that the current text of the ZPPKŽ, despite promises to the contrary by the legislator, still places the physician at the centre of the legal procedure as an assistant in another person’s suicide – a role most doctors reject, as assisting in suicide is contrary to medical ethics and professional deontology.
In rejecting the law due to its disregard for our professional autonomy, the SMA also warns the broader public that the introduction of assisted suicide may bring about specific and intensified social anomalies in our society. These could pose a greater threat to the respect of human rights than the current legal prohibition on assisted suicide. Suicide is already a major issue in Slovenian society, and passing a law that changes the societal stance on suicide will present an even greater challenge for the broader social environment.