Guernsey's parliament has decisively rejected proposals to legalise assisted dying.
If the proposed bill had been accepted, the island could have become the first place in the British Isles to allow assisted dying.
Following three days of debates, a series of votes on different clauses were all lost decisively. But, the 40-strong parliament did agree on a review of palliative and end-of-life care due to an anticipated "substantial increase" in healthcare needs for the island's ageing population. Parliamentarians said that the Committee for Health and Social Care will "consider the measures necessary to improve quality of life and health outcomes for all islanders towards the end of their lives".
The Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, whose diocese includes the island tweeted on Friday that he was "delighted to learn that Guernsey has rejected the proposals for physician assisted suicide and euthanasia".
"Thanks be to God for answering our prayer during this Great Novena leading to Pentecost," he wrote.
Supporters of the bill said they were disappointed by the outcome, but believed change in the future was inevitable.
“Naturally we are disappointed with this result, although it was not entirely unexpected. We, of course, accept that decision. We remain of the view that this is an inevitable change which in the fullness of time Guernsey will one day adopt.”
Gavin St Pier, the island's most senior politician and champion of the proposals, said: "The important thing is we've brought this topic up the agenda, it hasn't been debated (in Guernsey) for 14 years, we've now had a debate, a conclusion has been reached - we accept that result."
Pro-life groups have welcomed the results. The anti-assisted dying campaign group Care Not Killing said it welcomed the "powerful rejection" of the proposals.
The group's campaign director Dr Peter Saunders described the plans for assisted dying as "dangerous" and said island politicians had recognised "the erosion of so called safeguards" in other places which had allowed assisted dying, including the US.
In his pastoral letter written published at the end of March, Bishop Egan had described the proposed legislation as “fundamentally subversive, horrific and dangerous, however well-intentioned.”
He also warned it would be impossible to control once it was introduced: “Assisting someone to die prematurely or assisting someone to commit suicide, even when they earnestly request it, can never ever be a compassionate action,” he said. “It is a grave sin.”
Loading ...
