The British Crown Dependency of Jersey, part of the Channel Islands, will decide this week whether to introduce assisted suicide. In 2021, Members of the States Assembly voted in favour of a new law in principle.
This week, politicians are debating how such legislation would work in practice. The Assembly will then vote on various measures, including whether to allow conscientious objection – meaning that medical professionals would have a right not to assist in the suicide of a patient.
Assembly Members will also decide eligibility criteria, including if assisted suicide should be limited to terminal illness, as well as how long a waiting period there should be, 14 days or 90 days.
Once a draft assisted suicide law is approved, it is anticipated that the first suicides will take place in 2027.
Tom Binet, the island’s health minister, claimed that the proposed legislation has “excellent safeguards”, while another Jersey politician asserted that it “could be an exemplar for other parts of the British Isles to follow”.
In 2021, 65 medical professionals penned an open letter imploring Jersey politicians not to legalise assisted suicide. “We are concerned about the most vulnerable members of our society who may feel coerced into a decision they would not make if the law did not permit it”, the letter stated.
“Profoundly Dangerous”
SPUC’s Michael Robinson, Executive Director (Public Affairs and Legal Services), said: “This proposed legislation is profoundly dangerous. If approved, it will sign the death warrants of hundreds, if not thousands, of islanders who need care, not death. There is nothing compassionate or ‘safe’ about ushering people into early graves.
“The public must be made aware of the mortal threat common to all assisted suicide laws, which threatens the most vulnerable people in society. The idea that such legislation can be made safe is a dangerous lie advanced by activists who ignore the example of Canada, as exposed by Liz Carr’s terrifying documentary.
“As we’ve seen in Canada, assisted suicide is now seen as a so-called ‘cure’ for mental illness, disability, and even example of Canada. Jersey could be the first step towards importing this deadly ethic into the UK. We cannot allow this to happen.”
Better Off Dead?
Liz Carr’s documentary Better Off Dead? aired on BBC One last week. Carr, who is disabled, said: “These laws, I believe, will put lives like mine – marginalised lives – at risk, and those risks will be fatal… This is terrifying.”
Carr met a palliative care expert who told her that “coercion does happen… vulnerable being pressured into having assisted deaths… That’s the greatest harm, the most catastrophic risk, I would say, of changing the law.”
The actress also spoke to a disabled Canadian man who, when homeless, found he had no choice but to opt for assisted suicide, especially when the waiting period was 90 days compared to ten years for social housing. Only a fundraising campaign saved his life.
