SARAJEVO (Reuters) -A top state body in Slovenia has vetoed new legislation to allow assisted dying, saying it raised complex philosophical, ethical and legal issues that needed to be tackled, STA news agency reported on Wednesday.
Parliament last week approved a bill giving terminally-ill adults the right to end their lives if they face unbearable suffering with no expectation of improvement, echoing decisions by an increasing number of countries including Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium and some U.S. states.
The legislation follows a consultative referendum last year in which 55% of voters called for such a law.
But the National Council – a bipartisan regulatory body grouping senior officials who oversee social, economic and local policies – vetoed the bill in a 20-9 vote late on Tuesday, ordering that it be returned to parliament for review.
Opponents on the council cited concerns that the bill could undo respect for the sanctity of life by opening the door to prematurely ending a life regardless of the circumstances.
The bill specified that assisted dying could be carried out only once treatment options were exhausted, and would not be allowed in the case of unbearable suffering resulting from mental illness, STA reported earlier.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; editing by Mark Heinrich)
