IS GUERNSEY SET TO BECOME THE UK’S SUICIDE CAPITAL?

The chief minister of the Channel island is backing a new law that will decriminalise assisted dying, a move that could put pressure on Westminster to follow suit

IT IS a tranquil island known for its gentle, relaxed way of life. But now Guernsey may become famous for an altogether more controversial reason. A proposal expected to be passed by the island’s parliament in May will see Guernsey become the first part of the British Isles to decriminalise assisted dying. As the law currently stands, assisted suicide – the act of “deliberately assisting or encouraging another person to kill themselves” – is punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment.

Guernsey chief minister Gavin St Pier is a supporter of the motion but is anxious to point out that it will not mean a sudden influx of “death tourism” to the island.

“The proposal is not going to mean an immediate change in the law,” he says. “We’ll set up an 18-month consultation period to work out the details, such as whether the individual should be required to physically administer the final act themselves or whether they can be helped, and whether it is limited to residents.”

He is also keen to play down rumours that any change in law will mean the creation of “suicide clinics” such as Dignitas in Switzerland.

“Nowhere in the proposal is the idea of a Dignitas-style clinic in Guernsey,” he points out. “It’s about putting in place a system where terminally ill people can go to a doctor to get a prescription, which they can then choose to exercise or not.

“It’s about helping terminally ill people take control over their own deaths.”

Brian Pretty, the husband of the right-to-die campaigner Diane, who died of motor neurone disease (MND) in 2002 at the age of 43, welcomes the new proposals. “It is great to see Guernsey taking steps forward on assisted dying – I give them my full support.

“It has been more than 15 years since Diane’s death and still there is no assisted dying law in the UK. This has to change.

“Diane simply wanted the chance to go out on her own terms, without suffering, with me by her side. Sadly she didn’t get her wish but she inspired so many others to fight on in her memory.”

Thomas Davies, director of campaigns at Dignity in Dying, says that the model for Guernsey is based on the law in the US state of Oregon where assisted death for terminally ill adults has been legal since 1997.

“This is the law we would like to see in the UK – 143 Oregonians chose to make use of the law last year,” says Davies. Under current