Isle of Man to debate assisted suicide motion this month.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Isle of Man, which is a self-governing territory in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland, will be debating an assisted suicide motion this month. Politics home published a media release by Dignity in Dying on January 10 which stated:

The Parliament of the Isle of Man, Tynwald, has announced that it will debate assisted dying at its January sitting, which begins on the 21st of January 2020. 

Dr Alex Allinson, Member of the House of Keys (MHK) for Ramsey, brought the following motion, which will be debated at the January sitting of Tynwald: “That Tynwald is of the opinion that legislation to allow for voluntary assisted dying should be introduced”. The debate does not involve specific proposals for legislation at this stage.

Dignity in Dying has failed on many occassions to legalize assisted suicide in the UK and is now attempting to give doctors in the Isle of Man the right to assist the suicide of their patients, as a beachhead into the UK. The Isle of Man needs to recognize how they are being used as pawns in the assisted suicide debate.