Jersey to legalise assisted dying

The draft Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law, approved by the States Assembly earlier this year, was granted royal assent yesterday and will come into force once it is registered by the Royal Court in the coming days.

The Jersey government said work would continue to ensure the assisted dying service begins operating as planned late next year.

The legislation allows eligible adults who have lived in Jersey for at least 12 months, are terminally ill and have a voluntary, settled and informed wish to end their life to apply for an assisted death. Patients must have a life expectancy of six months, or 12 months in cases involving a neurodegenerative disease.

Unlike legislation proposed at Westminster, Jersey’s law allows a doctor or registered nurse to administer the life-ending medication.

Health minister Senator Tom Binet said: “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, Jersey’s primary legislation requires royal assent following a recommendation from the lord chancellor. The move puts Jersey ahead of the Isle of Man, whose parliament approved assisted dying legislation in 2025 but is still awaiting royal assent after the Ministry of Justice raised concerns about safeguards, including protections against coercion.

Meanwhile, assisted dying legislation is due to return to Westminster on 11 September after Labour MP Lauren Edwards reintroduced the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. A previous version, introduced by Kim Leadbeater, fell when it ran out of parliamentary time before prorogation.

The bill would permit terminally ill adults in England and Wales with less than six months to live to seek an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and an expert panel.

In Scotland, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was rejected by MSPs in March.