Jersey has become the first part of the British Isles to legalise assisted dying after the Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law 2026 received Royal Assent.
The legislation will allow eligible adults with a terminal illness to request an assisted death, subject to a number of legal safeguards and eligibility criteria. The law will now be introduced in phases before the service becomes operational.
Supporters of the legislation have said it gives mentally competent, terminally ill adults greater choice at the end of life while incorporating safeguards to protect vulnerable people.
Campaign group Care Not Killing, however, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision and argued the law breached the UK's obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The organisation said it had written to the Attorney General of Jersey and the Ministry of Justice in May, raising concerns that the legislation did not contain sufficient safeguards against coercion or undue influence and failed to adequately protect vulnerable people, including those with disabilities and certain mental health conditions.
Care Not Killing also criticised provisions creating "safe access" zones around assisted dying services, arguing they could restrict freedom of conscience, expression and religious practice.
Dr Gordon Macdonald, chief executive of Care Not Killing, said: "This legislation will fundamentally alter health and palliative care on Jersey and put the lives of vulnerable people at risk, exactly as we have seen in those places that have introduced assisted suicide or euthanasia.
"It fails on a number of fronts, including: lack of legal protections for doctors and nurses who do not want to be involved, protections for the elderly and disabled people at risk of being coerced, will see money taken out of palliative care and has been sold to the public as a way to end suffering when we know from places like Oregon, those who take the death row drugs may suffer long and agonising death from a pulmonary oedema – where their lungs slowly fill up with bodily fluid and they drown in their own secretions.
"Importantly, as our lawyers have pointed out, this law does not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights and is not compatible with the UK's obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We will be consulting our lawyers to determine our next steps and how and when this dangerous law can be challenged."
The Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law 2026 is expected to be registered by the Royal Court of Jersey in the coming days, formally becoming law. However, it will not be implemented until next year.
