Halting assisted dying law would be 'egregious'

It would be "egregious" of the UK government to halt progress of Jersey's assisted dying law as it had with the Isle of Man, campaign organisation Humanists UK says.

Jersey passed its bill in February, marking the final legislative stage for the landmark proposals before they get Royal Assent in the UK. If approved, the first legal assisted deaths could happen as early as next summer.

However, the UK government said in April it would not approve the Isle of Man bill unless changes were made to address safeguarding concerns.

Nathan Stilwell, of Humanists UK, said the UK should not use the any similar argument to delay or obstruct progress as Jersey's law undergone "thorough scrutiny".

The UK's own proposed bill to allow terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their own lives in England and Wales ran out of time last week - almost 17 months after MPs first supported it.

Isle of Man senior politician Dr Alex Allinson said Jersey would have a better chance of passing its bill if leaders "liaised quite closely" with the UK's Ministry of Justice to prevent a similar delay as the Isle of Man.

Stilwell said Jersey's law had "undergone years of thorough scrutiny" and was considered by Humanists UK as "fully compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)".

"Following the UK government's decision to prevent the Isle of Man's law from proceeding at this stage, it would be egregious for it to use the same argument to delay or obstruct Jersey's progress, to the detriment of terminally ill people and their families, who had hoped this law would provide greater choice and dignity at the end of life," he said.

He added: "Given that similar laws are already in place elsewhere in Europe, it is entirely reasonable to question whether reliance on the ECHR is justified.

"Switzerland's law is one line long and has never been successfully challenged under the ECHR."

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