Assisted dying time will come, but not yet
STATES members in Jersey are currently taking one of the most significant, probably the most significant, decision that they will take in their political lives.
The island’s Council of Ministers have tabled a proposition which could see in-principle approval given to assisted dying to be introduced in Jersey.
A significant difference between Jersey’s approach and that adopted in Guernsey in 2018 when the States voted against such a proposal is the method of delivery. Deputy Gavin St Pier was Chief Minister at the time but he proposed the move via requete, not with the backing of a senior committee.
A vote in favour would have mean that Guernsey would have become the first place in the British Isles to offer euthanasia for people with terminal illnesses. Jersey’s States take the vote with the knowledge that a ‘citizens’ jury’ has backed the move – 78% of jury members supported assisted dying for adults living with a terminal illness or unbearable suffering, subject to certain safeguards.
It’s no surprise that the jury fell this way. No doubt a Guernsey jury would do the same.
But late in the proceedings a group of 65 medical professionals in Jersey have written to oppose the proposals, and say that if they are passed, then they won’t be involved.
Dr Carol Davis, consultant in palliative medicine, said: ‘Legalising assisted suicide and euthanasia is a seismic legal, ethical and moral change and it carries serious risks to society and particularly its most vulnerable members.’
We can be almost sure that assisted dying will have its time in the British Isles. An assisted-dying bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament in June 2021 and is currently going through consultation. A similar private member’s bill was introduced to the UK House of Lords in May.
But the Channel Islands are unlikely to want to be in the vanguard of this significant policy shift, which is bound to divide communities.
Jersey’s decision this week, whichever way it goes, will send a strong signal both to Guernsey and the rest of the UK. But particularly with the medical profession opposed, the timing still feels a little premature. We can expect that the States won’t be too quick to respond.