Jersey has legalised euthanasia. The British island's proposed law that allows adults who are terminally ill to commit suicide with the assistance of a doctor has been granted Royal Assent after the bill was approved by the island’s self-governing legislature in February.
The autonomous island under the British Crown, located 14 miles off the Cotentin Peninsula of northwest France in the English Channel, will become the first of the British Isles and the first British territory to legalize assisted suicide.
Minister of Health and Social Services Tom Binet expressed his delight over the Royal Assent being granted: “Our focus now is on continuing our work to get the service set up and running.”
The “Assisted Dying Law” will come into force once it is registered at the Jersey Royal Court. It is expected to come into effect next year.
In November 2021, Jersey’s States Assembly decided that “assisted dying” should be allowed “in principle.” In May 2024, it voted in favor of drawing up laws for assisted suicide after the government announced its plan to introduce the practice. In February this year, the law was passed in a 32-to-16 vote.