All eyes on Isle of Man and Jersey as UK law set to miss May deadline
A law to allow terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their own lives has been approved in Jersey this week (Thursday 26 February).
It follows the Isle of Man's own Assisted Dying Bill being approved in March last year.
But, it now looks highly unlikely that similar legislation will pass in England and Wales.
It has successfully passed through the House of Commons; however more than 1,200 amendments have been tabled in the House of Lords - 700 of those by just eight peers - ahead of a May deadline.
If the bill is not passed before the end of this parliamentary session, it fails, but the UK government is not expected to grant more time in the House of Lords.
That's left campaigners, like Dame Esther Rantzen, who's terminally ill, furious.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's PM programme last night, she had this message of praise for the Isle of Man:
But how long will the wait be for Jersey to see the bill receive royal assent?
Much like the Isle of Man, it now has to wait for the UK's Lord Chancellor - currently David Lammy - to make a recommendation that royal assent be granted, due to the Island's Crown Dependency status.
The Manx bill has now been waiting around 11 months.
The delay to our bill has been the topic of much discussion internationally, with all eyes now looking at how long it takes for either law to get the stamp of approval.
Jersey's Attorney General, Matthew Jowitt KC, told the States Assembly yesterday he'd be 'astonished' if Royal Assent wasn't granted, saying if that was the case, the crown dependency would be facing a 'constitutional difficulty of some magnitude'.
Tom Binet, Jersey's Health Minister, has been speaking to the BBC's Sarah Montague on Radio 4's World at One programme:
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