St Pier: ‘Change anywhere in British Isles on assisted dying will affect Guernsey’

The debate on assisted dying has been reignited in the UK after broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen said she was considering travelling to Zurich, where assisted dying is legal.

The 83-year-old, best known for presenting TV show ‘That’s Life’, is suffering from stage four lung cancer and has joined Dignitas, the not-for-profit organisation which provides physician-assisted dying to members who have illnesses ‘that will lead inevitably to death, unendurable pain or an unendurable disability’.

‘Guernsey missed the opportunity to be a leader on this, so now it will be a follower,’ said Deputy Gavin St Pier, who led the requete in May 2018 to form an independent working party to look at assisted dying, which was defeated by 24 votes to 14.

‘A change anywhere in the British Isles will change the situation here. It looks as if the Isle of Man is likely to be first to legislate, with Jersey and Scotland not far behind. Clearly, a change by the Westminster parliament for England & Wales would be very significant.

‘This is an essential development if we are going to improve end-of- life choices for terminally ill adults who have capacity.

'This is not about shortening lives but shortening deaths for those who are already dying and want that choice for themselves.’

In the UK the Labour Party has now agreed that if elected it will allow parliamentary time for the matter to be debated, and Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove also said he thought it would be appropriate for the Commons to revisit the issue.

Euthanasia – the act of intentionally ending a life to relieve suffering – is legal in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Helping another person to kill themselves – assisted suicide – is permitted in Switzerland, while some form of assisted dying for terminally ill adults is legal in a number of US states, including Washington, California and Oregon.

Deputy St Pier said he would be prepared to lead a new requete on the issue in the future.

‘There must be an opportunity for members in this Assembly to express their view. That is likely to be after further progress has been made in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Scotland.

‘We know from all the polling evidence that about 70% of the public consistently support change. But opponents are very well funded and organised and will fight hard whenever this issue is debated.’

However it is unlikely that the topic will be revisited in the current incarnation of the States, which ends in June 2025, with Health & Social Care president Al Brouard saying it was not on his committee’s agenda.

‘All committees have to prioritise and revisiting this issue is not a priority for the committee during the remainder of this political term.’