Jersey becomes first British Isles territory to legalize assisted dying

Jersey has cleared the final legislative hurdle to become the first part of the British Isles to legalize assisted dying, after its law received Royal Assent on 9 July 2026. The government says the service is still being built and is expected to begin operating late next year, but the island is now ahead of every other part of the British Isles on the question of whether terminally ill adults should be able to seek help to end their lives.

The Assisted Dying (Jersey) Law was adopted by the States Assembly on 26 February 2026, following years of public consultation and a citizens’ jury process that gave ordinary islanders a central role in shaping the policy. The States Assembly had already signaled in principle in November 2021 that assisted dying should be allowed, making Jersey the first parliament in the British Isles to take that position. Tom Binet, Jersey’s Minister for Health and Social Services, said he was delighted by the Royal Assent and confident the law would come into force on the government’s timetable.

The new law is built around narrow eligibility rules. It is designed for terminally ill adult residents who are experiencing unbearable suffering and who choose assisted dying with medical help. The government says the law will not fully commence until it is registered in the Royal Court and then brought into effect by an appointed day act. Jersey’s implementation plan includes training on-Island health and care professionals, recruiting and training staff for the Assisted Dying Service, developing operational guidance and service standards, and creating the Dying Assurance and Delivery Committee and Review Panel.

The route to the law ran through public engagement that began years earlier. Jersey’s Assisted Dying Citizens’ Jury had 23 members selected at random, and its final report was published on 16 September 2021. That report followed an earlier consultation in which more than 350 responses were received, and it came after a 2018 e-petition signed by 1,861 people calling for a change in the law. Humanists UK called the Royal Assent historic and said Jersey had become the first part of the British Isles to legalize assisted dying, framing the law as a test case for debates that are likely to continue across the wider U.K. and Ireland.