Jersey is set to become the first jurisdiction in the British Isles to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill adults, prompting warnings from opponents that vulnerable people will be put at risk.
The Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law 2026 received Royal Assent this week, after being approved by Jersey's States Assembly in February. It is expected to become law in the next few days when it is officially registered in the Royal Court.
Assisted suicides are expected to be available from September 2027. To be eligible, terminally ill adults must have lived in Jersey for at least 12 months, be suffering unbearably, and have a life expectancy of six months - extended to 12 months for certain neurodegenerative conditions like motor neurone disease. Assisted suicides must receive approval from two independent doctors before they can go ahead.
Care Not Killing, a UK-based campaign group opposing the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the development.
The group argues that the law breaches the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), citing potential conflicts with a number of articles, including those pertaining to the right to life, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.
In a legal letter to the Attorney General of Jersey and the Ministry of Justice, Care Not Killing’s solicitors, Conrathe Gardner LLP, questioned the law’s compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and suggested bringing it to force would place vulnerable individuals at “severe risk of loss of life in a way that is discriminatory and impermissible under the ECHR”.
The letter further argues that the law is not robust enough in protecting vulnerable people, particularly those with disabilities, from coercion as it relies on the assessing doctor “simply asking the individual if anyone has coerced them”.
Care Not Killing chief executive, Dr Gordon Macdonald, said: “This legislation will fundamentally alter health and palliative care on Jersey and put the lives of vulnerable people at risk, exactly as we have seen in those places that have introduced assisted suicide or euthanasia.
“It fails on a number of fronts, including: lack of legal protections for doctors and nurses who do not want to be involved, protections for the elderly and disabled people at risk of being coerced, will see money taken out of palliative care and has been sold to the public as a way to end suffering when we know from places like Oregon, those who take the death row drugs may suffer long and agonising death from a pulmonary oedema - where their lungs slowly fill up with bodily fluid and the drown in their own secretions.”
The Isle of Man was the first part of the British Isles to approve assisted suicide but the Assisted Dying Bill 2023 is still to receive Royal Assent, meaning it is not yet in force. It has been held up after the UK Ministry of Justice refused to grant Royal Assent on the grounds that it did not comply with the ECHR. If it comes into effect, it will permit assisted suicide for terminally ill adults who have been living on the island for at least five years.
