Jersey approves assisted dying law

A law to allow terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their own lives has been approved in Jersey.

It marks the final legislative stage for the landmark proposals before they get Royal Assent in the UK - and once approved the first legal assisted deaths could happen as early as next summer.

Those eligible are people with terminal illnesses causing unbearable suffering where they are expected to die within six months, or 12 months for those with neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and motor neurone disease (MND).

It means Jersey is now the second part of the British Isles where assisted dying has been fully approved - the Isle of Man was the first.

Five parliaments are debating assisted dying, with the draft law in England and Wales making slow progress in the House of Lords.

The various proposals across the UK have generated huge controversy, with passionate arguments for and against the changes.

Both Crown dependencies have set residency requirements for eligibility - 12 months for Jersey and five years for the Isle of Man.

Thirty-two politicians voted in favour of the law with 16 voting against it.

Jersey Minister for Health and Social Services, Tom Binet, said: "Jersey would have one of the safest and most transparent assisted dying laws in the world."

Lorna Pirozzolo, from Jersey, who has terminal breast cancer, said the reform to law was "badly needed".

"Like so many terminally ill people I've spoken with, I'm not scared of dying, but I am terrified of suffering as I go. That's why this law is so badly needed.

"Today brings enormous relief, not just for me, but for future generations of islanders who deserve compassion, choice and dignity at the end of life."

Humanists UK chief executive Andrew Copson said it was a "momentous vote of confidence for compassion, dignity, and choice at the end of life".

"For far too long, terminally ill people were denied the right to decide the manner and timing of their own deaths. Today, Jersey has changed that," he said.

"The proposals contain strong safeguards and reflect the clear wishes of the public, who have spoken through citizens' juries and repeated surveys."

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