By a majority of 32 votes to 16, State Members on the Island of Jersey have voted to pass an Assisted Dying law.
The law will now pass to the Privy council for Royal assent, and when including the implementation phase, including secondary legislation, clinical guidance, and oversight arrangements – it may take 18 months for the law to come into force, sometime in 2027.
In order to access the service, The applicant must:
- Be an adult.
- Be terminally ill.
- Have a clear mental capacity and a settled wish to die.
- Be assessed by two independent doctors.
- Be ordinarily resident for at least 12 months in the relevant jurisdiction.
- Be able to withdraw or cancel at any point along the way.
The Jersey Bill also includes both a subjective suffering element: the person believes they cannot bear the suffering the condition is causing (or is expected to cause) and 14-day cooling off period, which can be waived if the person will die imminently.
You can read more about this historic bill here: Jersey passes historic Assisted Dying Law – Humanists UK