JERSEY – The long road to Jersey’s Assisted Dying Law
11 November 2026
Guest article by Michael Talibard*
When last I wrote a piece for DIGNITAS – To live with dignity – To die with dignity, in 2019, we were still busily campaigning. We commissioned the professional research agency 4Insight to conduct two surveys in Jersey – one of public opinion[1] and one of our medical profession[2]. Both came back with strong support.
In what I perceived as a delaying tactic, our government then set up a Citizens’ Jury in February 2020. Well, it did serve as a delay, but still the Jury published its report in September 2021, and with the agreement of 78 % of its members, it gave a clear mandate for assisted dying legislation in Jersey. We were well on our way, and in November 2021, the States Assembly of Jersey (our legislature; in short States [of Jersey]) debated and passed its historic ”in-principle” approval. So the legislation began to be drafted.
A significant change came in June 2022, when my co-campaigner Tom Binet was elected to the States of Jersey. I had mixed feelings. Tom believed that as a States member he needed to distance himself from our campaign group, End of Life Choices Jersey (EoLCJ). I was sorry about that, and had to continue more or less on my own. On the other hand, Tom’s convictions had not changed.
And so it proved: in his first year in the States of Jersey Tom was appointed Minister for Infrastructure, and began to oversee the project to build a new hospital; and at the beginning of 2024, he became our Health Minister. What could be better than that?
Meanwhile, by October 2022, the civil servants had constructed a policy framework with two distinct pathways: what was called Route 1 was for those with unbearable suffering arising from a terminal illness, and a prognosis of 6 months to live, or 12 in the case of neurodegenerative conditions. Route 2 was for those with an incurable illness and unbearable suffering, but without a specific terminal prognosis.
In April 2023, there came yet another delaying tactic in the shape of an Ethics Review. That was an absurdity, since assisted dying had of course been an ethical question all along. Moreover, the review panel was badly chosen, consisting of three rather similar lawyers. If they really wanted to clarify the ethics, what they needed was a moral philosopher, and I suggested the perfect man for the job – namely Ben Smart, a Jerseyman and a university Professor of Philosophy who has specialised in public health. My letter about this did not receive the courtesy of a reply. Anyway, their panel went with the two Routes approach.
It was always apparent to EoLCJ that Route 2 patients might miss out, despite being in the more desperate situation of the two. With the same suffering, to have no end in sight must be a worse plight. So we re-ignited our public campaign, and I remember standing outside the States building as the members went in to vote, holding up a plea for Route 2. But I was outnumbered right there by campaigners from the organisation Dignity in Dying, who were asking only for Route 1. With friends like that, you don’t need enemies.
In the event, it transpired as I feared it would. In May 2024, the States Assembly approved the proposal for Route 1 but rejected that for Route 2 (i.e. only the suffering). The legislation was drafted accordingly. After a great deal more delay and needless rounds of scrutiny, the law was passed by the States in February 2026[3] and actually became law when it received the Royal Assent in July 2026.
On a personal note, I feel proud that (in a UK context) my little island is leading the way, and proud of the part I played in that. I was also very disappointed at first, but Tom Binet dropped in on me a bottle of wine and said, ‘I know it’s not all you hoped for, Michael, but it’s a big step in the right direction.’ I trust him, and when he told me that Route 1 was the most that anyone could have got through the States at that time, I felt convinced.
In (let us say) three or four years, once the new law is bedded in and working properly, once people have started to benefit and the skies haven’t fallen in, it will become possible to finish the job. I certainly hope so.
* Michael Talibard is a member of End of Life Choices (EoLCJ) Jersey, a campaign group promoting the right to die.
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[1] Research Report general public (PDF)
[2] Research Report medical doctors (PDF)
[3] https://www.gov.je/Caring/AssistedDying/pages/assisteddying.aspx
