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| 1968, June |
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| Agitation of the Catholic, French-speaking population of the Jura (part of the canton of Berne) for the establishment of the area as a separate canton. A federal special commission was set up (Aug.) to seek a solution to the problem. | 1 |
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| 1970 |
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| Women's suffrage: During the period from June to September, Parliament approved a constitutional amendment on female suffrage for federal affairs and the eligibility of women for election to the federal Parliament. The new constitution was endorsed by a national referendum held on Feb. 7, 1971. At the same time, a number of cantons also held referenda on the extension of the same rights in cantonal matters. Although in certain cantons these rights of women were restricted, progress on giving the franchise to women on cantonal and local levels continued in the following years. | 2 |
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| 1970–85 |
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| Immigration restrictions: Following the introduction of a new permit system in March 1970 to stabilize the number of foreign workers employed in Switzerland, the Bundesrat approved more stringent measures in 1973 through 1975 to limit the size of the foreign workforce, especially Italian workers. In 1983 and 1984, a law was passed on the revised rules of political asylum, under which the refugees had to prove they were not economic migrants. | 3 |
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| 1977, April 20 |
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| The Bundesrat decided to join the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, which was made up of states exporting nuclear equipment and materials and thus bearing a particular responsibility for the prevention of proliferation of nuclear weapons. | 4 |
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| Sept. 25 |
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| Abortion issues: A national referendum narrowly rejected a proposal to allow the termination of pregnancy within the first 12 weeks. | 5 |
| A referendum in the canton of Zurich accepted a proposal to initiate federal legislation to permit euthanasia to be carried out by doctors at the request of a terminally ill patient. | 6 |
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