Isle of Man Assisted Dying Bill proceeds to Tynwald committee
An Assisted Dying Bill that puts the Isle of Man on a path to become the first part of the British Isles to legalise this choice for terminally ill citizens will now be scrutinised by a committee. This follows a debate on its next steps today (Tuesday 7 November 2023), after Members of the House of Keys (MHKs) backed proposals at its Second Reading last week.
In a victory for compassion and common-sense, last week MHKs voted by a significant majority to progress an Assisted Dying Bill introduced by Dr Alex Allinson, MHK for Ramsey. It proposes that the option of assisted dying should be available as a choice for terminally ill, mentally competent islanders, subject to strict safeguards.
Following a debate today on the next steps of the Bill, the clauses will now be considered by a committee made up of five members, who will report back by the end of February 2024. The following MHKs were approved as members of the committee: Dr Alex Allinson MHK for Ramsey, David Ashford MHK for Douglas North, Rob Callister MHK for Onchan, Dr Michelle Haywood MHK for Rushen and Lawrie Hooper MHK for Ramsey.
The Bill will then move on to the Clauses stage, where the whole House can debate the clauses and put forward any amendments, before it receives a Third Reading in the House of Keys and then progresses onto the Legislative Council. The Bill should receive Royal Assent next year, followed by consideration of how the legislation will be implemented, with assisted dying potentially available in the Isle of Man from 2025.
Dr Alex Allinson, MHK for Ramsey and a GP said:
“Last week’s historic vote demonstrated the overwhelming support for our Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Keys – a reflection of the many years of local campaigning. Other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand and numerous American States, have proven that assisted dying can be legislated for safely, alongside access to high quality end-of-life care and with robust protections for the whole of society. Now we must get on with the task of getting this right for our own community in the Isle of Man. I look forward to working with this committee, healthcare bodies and clinicians in order to do so.”
Polling released last month revealed that two in three (66%) respondents in the Isle of Man supported the introduction of assisted dying as an option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, with more than half (53%) indicating strong support.
Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying said:
“Assisted dying is a movement whose time has come for the Isle of Man, as last week’s vote has proven. The matter of how, when and where we die is rightly deserving of full, evidence-based debate and scrutiny, which the Assisted Dying Bill’s subsequent stages will now allow. These must now continue at pace, to avoid prolonging any further the suffering of dying people and their loved ones. The longer the current law remains in place, the more damage it will cause to Manx families.”
Mounting evidence in the UK has revealed the ban on assisted dying to be:
- Unsafe. Up to 650 dying people end their own lives in the UK every year. These deaths are often violent and lonely.
- Unfair. 17 people a day suffer as they die because palliative care, no matter how good, cannot relieve all suffering all of the time.
- Unregulated. More than 630 dying Brits have travelled to Switzerland for an assisted death. This option is not available to everyone (costing on average £15,000, a 50% increase in five years), and the law offers no protection to individuals or loved ones who provide support.
Last week’s vote comes as Westminster’s Health and Social Care Select Committee prepares to report on the first ever House of Commons inquiry into assisted dying, launched in December, while separate bills are already making progress in Scotland and Jersey. The Oireachtas in Ireland is conducting its own inquiry into assisted dying, and a Bill is due to be brought before the French Parliament in December after a citizens’ assembly overwhelmingly recommended law change.
More than 250 million people around the world already have access to some form of assisted dying law, including in 11 jurisdictions in the US, all Australian states and the whole of New Zealand, where the choice is available to terminally ill, mentally competent adults subject to strict safeguards.
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For further information and interview requests with Dignity in Dying spokespeople, people with personal experiences and parliamentarians, please contact Ellie Ball, Deputy Director of Communications at Dignity in Dying, on 07725 433 025 or email ellie.ball@dignityindying.org.uk.