Schadenberg message to the Isle of Man. Euthanasia: Don't go there.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Alex Schadenberg (jet lag picture)

I just completed meetings with elected representatives in Scotland and the Isle of Man. Medical professionals, under the banner of Manx Duty of Care, brought me to the Isle of Man.

While in the Isle of Man I was interviewed, along with Dr Graham McAll, by the BBC. The BBC news report states:

The Isle of Man should not "open the door" to proposed assisted dying laws, a Canadian campaigner has said.

Alex Schadenberg from the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition believes proposed safeguards would be eroded over time.

Mr Schadenberg is set to share his views at public meeting on the issue in Douglas on Tuesday, organised by a group of island medics who have raised concerns about the bill.

According to the BBC the proposed legislation stipulates to be eligible you must be an island resident diagnosed with a terminal illness, with a life expectancy of six months or less. I reportedly stated:

In 2021, Canada loosened its euthanasia laws to no longer require that a patient's condition be terminally ill, allowing people whose condition is serious and incurable to request it.

Mr Schadenberg said: "Don’t go there... we were told in Canada it would only be for rare cases [but] you open the door to one thing, and you end up getting something else."

Dr Graham McAll - Manx Duty of Care

The BBC reported Dr Graham McAll stating

Retired GP Graham McAll is a member of Manx Duty of Care, an opposition group of about 150 health and social care workers and organisers of the meeting at the Manx Museum.

He said he believed the proposals were "dangerous" as he feared they would be eventually extended and "we won't be able to stop it once we open the can of worms".

The move was "unnecessary" as with improved care "the legislation should not be needed", Mr McAll said.

Manx radio provided a shorter but similar as the BBC report. Manx radio reported:

Once assisted dying has been legalised, it's hard to stop the criteria for those eligible being expanded.

That's the warning from a campaigner from Canada, who's been speaking at an event on the Isle of Man.

Canada introduced laws similar to those being considered on the Isle of Man in 2016, before widening the groups able to request an assisted death in 2021.

More than 130 people attended the public meeting and 9 members of the Manx parliament.