Assisted dying debate ‘was no vanity project’

In the States yesterday, Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache gave a general update on behalf of the Policy & Resources Committee, saying there was no time or money for vanity projects, and spending would have to be rigorously and ruthlessly prioritised.

In response to a question from Deputy John Gollop, Deputy Ferbrache gave the assisted dying debate as an example of a previous ‘vanity project’.

‘A vanity project detracts from the aims and resources of government,’ he said.

‘Let’s make up an example, something like assisted dying, which took away resources that we didn’t have and took away from a policy that had been developed by the then Policy & Resources committee and was seeking to take away resources that we didn’t have.

‘That kind of thing I regard as a vanity project.’

In October 2017, Sarah Griffith wrote to the States asking government to debate the issue of assisted dying.

Four months later, the then president and vice-president of P&R, Gavin St Pier and Lyndon Trott, with five other deputies, laid a requete to force a debate on the issue.

But while the debate went on for three days in the States, it appeared to involve little officer time and no public expenditure.

Had it succeeded, it would have required staff resources. But members voted 24-14 against forming an independent working party which would have been tasked with making a recommendation on the details of an assisted dying regime.

After hearing what Deputy Ferbrache had said in the States, Mrs Griffith said: ‘I’m very disappointed to hear our chief minister describe assisted dying as a vanity project, given that the objective of any legislation in that direction would be aimed at ending suffering for people in deeply unpleasant circumstances.’

She said it would have been a very tough comment for some islanders to hear.

‘In my eyes a vanity project is something someone wants to bring about that’s not useful but makes them look good. The aim of this was to relieve people of their suffering,’ she said, and described the comments as offensive.

After Deputy Ferbrache’s speech, former deputy Barry Brehaut, who was a signatory of the requete in 2018, was among those on social media describing the comments as ‘so insensitive and thoughtless’.