Jersey outlines plans for possible assisted dying
Proposals for how an assisted dying law in Jersey would work have been published.
Only adults who have lived on the Channel island for 12 months and who are terminally ill or have an incurable condition with unbearable suffering would be eligible, the proposals state.
A debate in the States Assembly is planned for May, with a vote then expected on whether to proceed with drawing up legislation. If the plans are voted through, it is expected the process for drafting a law could take around 18 months, with a debate then taking place by the end of 2025.
If a law was approved it is expected a further 18-month implementation period would begin, meaning the earliest for a law to come into effect would be spring or summer 2027.
In February, a report by MPs at Westminster warned that the Government must consider what to do if the law is changed in part of the UK or on the Isle of Man or Jersey, both of which are Crown Dependencies.
The Health and Social Care Committee said legalisation in at least one jurisdiction is looking “increasingly likely” and suggested the Government must be “actively involved” in discussions about how to approach differences in the law.
The proposals for Jersey describe how the service would work, who would be eligible for an assisted death and how a person’s eligibility would be assessed.
On the Isle of Man, a committee has been scrutinising a bill to legalise assisted dying and the proposed law is expected to be debated by the island’s wider Tynwald parliament soon.
Amendments could be made between now and May.
Jersey’s minister for health and social services, Tom Binet, said: “Assisted dying is a complex issue which other jurisdictions are also actively working to consider. “The proposals brought forward by the Council of Ministers are very comprehensive and will help ensure our Assembly does justice to this important matter”. The proposals state that the person must have a voluntary, clear, settled and informed wish to end their own life, and have capacity to make such a decision.
They must be “ordinarily resident” in Jersey, a measure intended to discourage “death tourism”. Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. In Scotland, it is not a specific criminal offence but assisting the death of someone can leave a person open to murder or other charges.
A bill put forward by Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur to make assisted dying legal in Scotland is set to come before Holyrood in the coming weeks.