Jersey votes to approve assisted dying as a similar UK bill stalls in House of Lords
Opponents say disabled, elderly, ill and depressed people could be pressured to end their lives so they are not a burden on others
A second British island voted on Thursday to approve assisted dying, as a similar bill that would allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives is bogged down in the British parliament.
The bill, which requires the formality of approval by King Charles, would allow terminally ill residents who have lived in Jersey for more than a year and are expected to have less than six months to live – or less than 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease – to end their lives.
Jersey’s States Assembly passed its Assisted Dying Law by a 32 to 16 vote after three days of debate.
The bill would allow a doctor or registered nurse to administer the lethal drugs, which differs from the legislation being considered in the Houses of Parliament that requires a terminally ill adult to end their own life with an approved substance.
Opponents of assisted dying have argued that disabled, elderly, ill and depressed people could be pressured to end their lives so they are not a burden on others.
Jersey, an island of about 100,000 inhabitants that sits in the English Channel off the northwest coast of France, is the second British Crown possession to approve assisted dying.
