Jersey is poised to become the second jurisdiction in the British Isles, after the Isle of Man, to legalise assisted dying, following the publication of a draft law this September. The proposed legislation would allow mentally competent, terminally ill adults to access medical assistance to end their lives, with life expectancy thresholds of less than six months (or 12 months for neurodegenerative conditions) and subject to an 18‑month implementation period, potentially bringing the law into force by mid‑2027.
Such developments raise pressing ethical and societal concerns. SPUC has long argued that assisted suicide, however carefully guarded, represents a dangerous breach in medical ethics and the intrinsic worth of human life. SPUC warns of the slippery slope: even the most stringent safeguards have a history of erosion, and criteria like “unbearable suffering” are inherently subjective and ripe for expansion. A medical profession that moves from caring to killing undermines both public trust and the Hippocratic oath as reflected in global medical ethics declarations.
Indeed, empirical evidence supports these cautions. Research suggests legalised assisted dying correlates with higher overall suicide rates, and in particular among women, challenging the notion that assisted suicide is an isolated or marginal phenomenon. Beyond individual cases, the cultural shift implicit in government-sanctioned death risks devaluing lives perceived as burdens. Disability advocacy groups echo this fear, emphasising that the cost of deepening care should never morph into an incentive for lives to end.
Rather than expanding options for death, pro-life voices urge investment in compassionate, dignified alternatives—robust palliative and psychiatric care, holistic support systems, and unwavering affirmation of every life’s value. True respect for autonomy doesn’t rest on granting lethal means, but on ensuring no one ever feels coerced, socially, emotionally, or economically, into choosing death over care.
As Jersey’s Assembly debates this pathbreaking bill, it stands at a crossroads: charting a course towards assisted death, or reaffirming commitment to life in all its forms. SPUC and its allies would counsel the latter, reminding legislators that safeguarding the vulnerable includes protecting them from the normalisation of death as a solution.
