Assisted dying ‘yes’ vote in Jersey could see flood of ‘death tourists’
Jersey faces an influx of “death tourists” if they vote for assisted dying, campaigners have warned.
This week, politicians will vote on whether to establish an assisted dying service on the Channel island.
Tom Binet, its health and social services minister, said that the proposals have been “very much influenced and informed by the views of islanders”.
However, campaigners in England have warned that if the vote falls in favour of assisted dying, it could lead to increasing numbers of people moving to Jersey in order to end their lives.
According to the current proposals, those wanting to end their own lives have to have been residents on the island for at least a year before making their first request.
Ahead of the debate, and subsequent vote, Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said: “The debates on assisted dying in Jersey should concern us all and the dangerous and harmful precedent they could set that could lead to ‘death tourism’ in the UK.
‘Some will feel pressured’
“Support for assisted suicide and euthanasia is often found among those with least experience of the issues and among people who would be least affected by it.
“The idea that it’s compassionate to end another human’s life has a corrosive effect on society: it leads to people with all kinds of conditions being treated with death rather than supporting them to live worthwhile lives.”
A spokesman for the campaign group, Care Not Killing, added: “It’s not a stretch of the imagination to think that some people will feel pressured to go to those places to end their lives because they become a care or financial burden on their loved ones.”
However, Dame Esther Rantzen, the 83-year-old broadcaster and founder of the Childline, who last year revealed that she had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, has rejected their claims.
In December, she revealed that she had joined Dignitas and was considering assisted dying if her condition does not improve following treatment.
Assisted suicide is banned in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. Dignitas is a Swiss organisation providing physician-assisted suicide to members.
Dame Esther said: “It is interesting that people are worried about ‘death tourists’. I wonder why? By definition, they’re not going to take much resources, are they?
‘I’d rather die in my own home’
“I’m terminally ill so I’m counting myself in this, we won’t take up many of your resources because we won’t have time to.
“Secondly, it only becomes ‘death tourism’ if England, for example, doesn’t legalise assisted dying.
“Otherwise, everybody will be free to have the death we would all wish in our own homes.
“Much as I love Jersey, I would rather die in my own home surrounded by people I love.
“So I think what the people of Jersey need to bear in mind is that they will be the torch bearers. I think it’ll be very, very influential.
“If at the end of that debate, they do vote for a change in the law. I think it will mean that England and Wales will have to look very carefully [at policies here].”
In 2021, just over three quarters (78 per cent) of the members on a citizens’ jury on the island in Jersey agreed assisted dying should be permitted, and later that year the States Assembly became the first parliament in the British Isles to decide “in principle” to allow assisted dying.
A debate is expected to begin on Tuesday, although voting may not begin until Wednesday.
Five votes will take place, with the first on whether the island should establish an assisted dying service for adult residents who have made a voluntary and informed decision to die.
Members of the States Assembly will also be asked to vote on limiting eligibility to people with a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months, or 12 months if they have a neurodegenerative disease. This is known as route one.
Elected representatives will also have a vote on whether the service should be open to someone with an incurable physical condition which might not be terminal but is causing them unbearable suffering, known as route two.
Another vote offers an opt-out for health professionals, giving them a right to refuse to participate in assisted dying.
A fifth vote asks members to agree on minimum time frames between the first formal request for an assisted death and the act itself – 14 days for route one and 90 days under route two.
Law limited to residents
Sarah Wootton, chief executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “Jersey is on the cusp of changing the law to ensure dying people are granted compassionate choice at the end of their lives. A change that the citizens of Jersey have long been in favour of.
“Right now, the blanket ban on assisted dying results in terminally ill people suffering, often leaving their families with awful memories of their final days.
“This law will be limited to residents similar to assisted dying laws in countries like Australia and New Zealand.”
If the proposals are voted through, it is expected the process for drafting a law could take around 18 months, with a debate then taking place by the end of 2025.
If a law was approved, it is expected a further 18-month implementation period would begin, meaning the earliest for it to come into effect would be summer 2027.
