Politicians debate assisted dying service plans

In 2021, the States Assembly became the first parliament in the British Isles to decide “in principle” to allow assisted dying

Politicians are debating whether an assisted dying service should be established in Jersey.

Following the debate, they will be voting on proposals on how assisted dying could work after the principle of legalising it was approved in 2021.

Proposals for how an assisted dying law on the island would work were published in March.

Health and Social Services Minister Tom Binet said proposals had been “very much influenced and informed by the views of islanders".

Five votes

He said: "I think all the indications are that a majority of people actually want this."

The debate started on Tuesday afternoon after a proposal to move it earlier in the agenda was withdrawn.

Five votes will take place, and these are expected to be on Wednesday.

The first will be on whether the island should establish an assisted dying service for adults who have made a voluntary and informed decision to die.

States Assembly members will also be asked to vote on limiting eligibility to people with a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months, or 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease.

This is known as route one.

Elected representatives will also vote on whether the service should be open to someone with an incurable physical condition which might not be terminal but is causing them unbearable suffering, known as route two.

Timeframes if approved

Another vote offers an opt-out for health professionals, giving them a right to refuse to participate in assisted dying.

A further vote is to ask members to agree on minimum timeframes between the first formal request for an assisted death and the act itself – 14 days for route one and 90 days under route two.

If the proposals are voted through, it is expected the process for drafting a law could take about 18 months, with a debate then taking place by the end of 2025.

If a law is approved, it is expected a further 18-month implementation period will then begin, meaning the earliest for it to come into effect would be summer 2027.