Isle of Man House of Keys passes assisted suicide bill

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Isle of Man legislative building

The Isle of Man assisted dying bill passed on third reading in the House of Keys (Lower House).

Two-thirds of the 24 members of the House of Keys voted in favour of the assisted dying bill. The bill requires that a person be an adult (at least 18) given a 12 month prognosis and must live on the Isle of Man for at least 5 years to qualify to be killed.

Rebecca Brahde reported for BBC news on July 23 that significant opposition to the bill remains:

Tim Glover described the proposed bill as a "Pandora's box", adding that the views of a number of charities, community groups and churches had not been sought.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan raised concerns over the increase from six months life expectancy to 12 and noted that under the proposals only people "capable of ingesting the poison themselves" would be eligible.

Chris Thomas said any decision on proposed assisted dying legislation should be what was best for the Isle of Man, and not based on the campaigns of UK pressure groups.

Julie Edge said she believed it was “irresponsible” to support legislation where there was a lack of detail on how, where and by whom the service would be provided and administered, and how it would be funded.

When I spoke in the Isle of Man to members of the legislative council I had great hope because the Chief Minister opposed the bill.

Ashley Tracey reported for BBC news on July 24, 2024 that:

Chief executive of Dignity in Dying Sarah Wootton said the vote to take the bill forward was a "victory for compassion and common sense".

But campaign group Manx Duty of Care, made up of healthcare professionals, said the move was "deeply disappointing" and emotion had "overruled reason" during the debate.

Graham McAll

Isle of Man doctors remain opposed to assisted suicide. Tracey reported:

Retired GP Graham McAll, who is a member of an opposition group of about 150 health and social care workers, Manx Duty of Care, said the passing of the bill by MHKs meant "centuries of medical ethics were turned upside down".

Raising concerns over the future recruitment of doctors, he said it could "put staff off moving to the island", which would "also affect the health of hundreds of us".

GP Fiona Baker from the Isle of Man Medical Society said there was “sadness and anger” amongst its members that the bill was set to progress despite evidence presented to MHKs on “the damage it will do to our health service and the danger for our vulnerable groups in society”.

Doctors "see people every day in our surgeries" whose lives could be "ended prematurely because of a wrong diagnosis, wrong prognosis, and coercion that isn’t spotted”, she said.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition hopes that the Isle of Man Upper House (Tynwald) will prevent the legalization of assisted suicide.