Will Guernsey legalise assisted dying?

Lawmakers are set to vote on whether to make Guernsey the first place in the British Isles to legalise medically assisted suicide.

Guernsey’s parliament today begins a debate on a controversial bill that would allow people to legally end their own lives on the island, the second largest of the Channel Islands.

The draft legislation was introduced by chief minister Gavin St Pier, CNN reports.

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“‘Human rights’ on any rationale interpretation simply must include the right of the terminally ill individual to make an informed decision of the end of life choice that they want for themselves,” he wrote on Twitter, using the hashtag #mycaremychoice.

A British Crown Dependency, Guernsey is not part of the UK or the EU and is able to set its own laws.

A number of residents have praised the move. Joyce Scott, 92, who moved to Guernsey in the 1970s, told the BBC: “I’ve had a wonderful life and a very happy marriage, but if I was unable to look after my personal hygiene and could not move, that would be horrifying and I would not want to go on living.”

However, the Bill has received considerable pushback from conservative and - particularly - religious groups.

In March, the Catholic bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, sent the island’s Catholic churches a letter, saying: “Let there be no death clinics in Guernsey. I appeal to Catholics to mobilise. Speak out against this proposal. It is never permissible to do good by an evil means.”

An open letter from 53 Christian ministers in Guernsey also opposed the proposal, claiming: “Every life is a gift that is precious and worthy of defence. Living life in all its fullness will include darker times, pain and sorrow.”

Emilie Yerby, deputy for the Western Parishes, added: “If people don’t have enough money for good quality end-of-life care, then it will make them more vulnerable to making the choice of an assisted death - even if that is not what they really want.”

St Pier has tabled an amendment to the Bill in response to concerns about Guernsey becoming a euthanasia destination. Instead, the island is proposing a variation of the “Oregon model”, allowing assisted dying for people with a diagnosed terminal illness who have less than six months’ life expectancy and full mental capacity, The Guardian reports.

“If passed, the move is likely to reignite the debate in the UK, three years after Westminster MPs decisively rejected a bill that would have allowed doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives,” says the newspaper.