Assisted dying is just days away from becoming law in Jersey – making it the first part of the British Isles where it will be legalised.
Jersey’s states assembly passed its draft Assisted Dying Law earlier this year and on Thursday it was granted royal assent.
Jersey’s government said the legislation will take effect when it is registered at the island’s royal court “in the coming days” and that work will continue to ensure a service “can begin operating on schedule late next year”.
Jersey’s parliament voted in May 2024 in favour of drawing up laws for an assisted dying service.
In February, after three days of debate, the law was approved – with 32 states assembly members voting in favour and 16 against.
Under the law, eligibility for an assisted death requires someone to have been resident in Jersey for at least 12 months, to have a voluntary, settled and informed wish to end their own life, and to be terminally ill with a life expectancy of six months, or 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease.
In contrast to the Bill set to be reintroduced at Westminster in September, which states the terminally ill adult must take an approved substance themselves, the Jersey legislation would allow a doctor or registered nurse to administer the lethal drugs.
Jersey’s minister for health and social services senator Tom Binet said: “I’m delighted the Assisted Dying Law has been granted royal assent. Our focus now is on continuing our work to get the service set up and running.
“There is still a lot of work to do, but I’ve every confidence that we can do it within the schedule we set ourselves.
“Assisted dying is a complex and emotive issue, and I’m grateful to everyone who’s worked so hard to ensure we considered this so thoroughly and produced such comprehensive legislation.”
As a crown dependency, for primary legislation to get royal assent and therefore formally become law in Jersey, the lord chancellor – David Lammy – is required to make a recommendation that it should do so. Royal assent is the formality of the monarch agreeing to make the Bill into an act so it becomes law.
While the Isle of Man’s Tynwald became the first parliament in the British Isles to agree a framework for assisted dying in March 2025, it has not yet been granted royal assent.
[ Jersey votes for assisted dying. Is Britain next?Opens in new window ]
The ministry of justice (MoJ) has so far declined to grant royal assent on the basis that key safeguards, including around coercion, had not been written directly into the Isle of Man Bill.
In June, Tynwald approved further amendments around protecting vulnerable people and establishing what Dr Alex Allinson – the Isle of Man politician behind the Bill – described as a “comprehensive system of independent post‑death review”.
He said he will now be encouraging Tynwald members to sign the Bill, “ensuring that it will survive the dissolution of this parliamentary session ahead of the island’s general election in September”.
A Bill to legalise assisted dying will formally return to the Westminster parliament for debate on September 11th. – PA
