Jersey step closer to legalising assisted dying, amid growing momentum for reform in Westminster

Press release |

A victory for compassion and common sense in Jersey

Jersey has taken a historic stride towards a safe, compassionate assisted dying law, as the island’s most detailed proposals for legalisation to date are published today. Islanders have applauded progress towards reforming a law that local people have long known is unsafe, unfair and out of date. This follows a landslide vote in the States Assembly in November 2021 in favour of the principle of assisted dying – the first British Isles parliament to do so – and a citizens’ jury that overwhelmingly backed law change.  The proposition is set for debate in Jersey’s Parliament, the States Assembly, this May.

Jersey’s progress comes as momentum grows in Westminster for a debate on assisted dying. The Health and Social Care Committee last month called on the Government to engage in the debate, with legalisation increasingly likely in Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Dame Esther Rantzen’s calls for parliamentary time and a free vote in the next parliament, supported by Dignity in Dying, have attracted more than 170,000 signatures in an official government petition and secured a Westminster Hall debate on the 29th of April. The largest and most in-depth survey of public opinion on assisted dying revealed earlier this month that 75% of the public back law change on assisted dying, with majority support in every parliamentary constituency in Great Britain.

Both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition have committed to ensuring time to debate assisted dying if either is successful in their respective Election bids.

Earlier this week, terminally ill woman Paola Marra hit headlines with a posthumous message to party leaders after travelling alone to Dignitas to die on Wednesday, urging them to ensure a full, fair and free debate on assisted dying.

Jersey’s proposition, if passed, brings terminally ill residents closer to having meaningful choice at the end of their lives, including the option of assisted dying for those who meet strict eligibility criteria, subject to robust safeguards and alongside all existing end-of-life care options.

Over the next nine weeks States Members will have the opportunity to examine the proposition and table amendments, after which they will debate it line by line from the 21st of May.  If the Assembly adopts the proposition, work will commence on the development of a draft assisted dying law, which would be due for debate before the end of 2025.

Alain du Chemin, born and raised in Jersey, devoted many of his final months to fighting for an assisted dying law before he died of an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2021. Jennifer Bridge MBE, leader of the Jersey Dignity in Dying Action Group, was a close friend of Alain’s. She said:

“Today is a historic day for Jersey. We are another step closer to ensuring that no one has to suffer against their wishes as they die like so many sadly have had to. I jumped for joy when the States Assembly voted to support the principle of legalising assisted dying in 2021. Now we have a proposition on the table that could at last give dying people the choice, compassion and protection they need.”

Dr Nigel Minihane, from St Helier, a GP for more than 30 years and a former head of the Island’s Primary Care Body, said:

“The publication of Jersey’s inaugural assisted dying proposals holds profound significance. A growing number of medical professionals concur that we are falling short in our duty to terminally ill individuals by depriving them of genuine autonomy over their end-of-life decisions. Mounting evidence suggests that palliative care alone falls short in alleviating all facets of suffering and, concurrently, the prohibition of assisted dying compels some dying people to take matters into their own hands at home or in Switzerland. Without affording our dying patients the option to determine the terms of their passing, we cannot claim to offer truly compassionate end-of-life care. The implementation of an assisted dying law would introduce the necessary mechanisms of regulation, transparency, and scrutiny, thereby broadening the services available to patients compared to the status quo, a reality demonstrated in numerous jurisdictions worldwide. It is imperative for States Members to acknowledge prevailing public sentiment regarding assisted dying, do the right thing, and vote to support law change in May.”

If passed, the proposition would enable someone to request an assisted death if they had a terminal physical medical condition and full decision-making capacity, made a voluntary, settled, and informed wish for an assisted death, be at least 18 years of age and had been ordinarily resident in Jersey for at least 12 months. The person making a request would be assessed by two doctors, with the support of a multidisciplinary team of other health and care professionals. If approved, a person would be able to choose to self-administer the assisted dying drugs, or for a practitioner to administer them. A doctor or nurse would prepare the drugs and remain nearby until the person had died.

No health or care professional would be compelled to directly participate in the assessment, approval or delivery of an assisted death if they had an objection to doing so.

A separate process would be in place for someone who had an incurable physical medical condition that was giving rise to unbearable suffering.

An Assisted Dying Bill in the Isle of Man passed Second Reading in October 2023 and the Scottish Parliament is also set to examine the issue, with the Assisted Dying Bill for Terminally Ill Adults Bill, brought by Liam McArthur MSP, expected to be published in the coming weeks. Both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Westminster have committed to ensuring parliamentary time for debate and a free vote on assisted dying in the next Parliament.

Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:

“Today is a victory for compassion and common sense in Jersey and for the British Isles as a whole. We are a step closer to some terminally ill Britons having meaningful choice over their death, and the Jersey Government must be applauded for its leadership on this historic issue.

“Jersey has listened to its citizens and to dying people and their loved ones and is taking strides towards a law that is right for Jersey citizens – one that is better, safer and more compassionate than the status quo. Westminster MPs must take note. Assisted dying is firmly on the electorate’s agenda as we approach what is set to be a watershed General Election. Voters will demand to know why some Britons may soon be able to access this choice, but they cannot. They will not forget or forgive MPs for their inaction on assisted dying.

“All political parties must now commit to ensuring a full, free and fair debate on assisted dying as soon as possible in the next parliament – only then can we find a way through for dying people that provides the choice, compassion, protection and fairness sorely lacking from the current law. Assisted dying is a movement whose time has come.”

*Ends*

Contact Will Harris at Boardwalk Communications on 07976 622965 or will@the-boardwalk.co.uk for interview requests.

Notes to Editor:

Opinium conducted an online survey amongst a nationally and politically representative sample of 10,897 UK Adults between 9th to 22nd February 2024. Three questions were modelled via Multilevel regression with poststratification (MRP) to produce constituency-level estimates on the new constituency boundaries.

The full breakdown of constituency level data can be found here:

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