Defeating the UK assisted suicide bills. Victory is close.

The following is the report from Dr Gordon Macdonald the CEO of Care NOT Killing in the UK, a leading group opposing the legalization of assisted suicide in the UK, Scotland and the British Isles.

Care NOT Killing needs donations to stop assisted suicide legalization in the UK (Donation Link).

Dr Gordon Macdonald

Dr Gordon Macdonald

I am delighted to report that the fruits of many months of campaigning could be about to pay off.

FIRST: England & Wales (Westminster)

Victory is now a real possibility.

Concerns over the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the House of Lords are growing.

Peers deserve great credit for refusing to be railroaded into rushing the Bill through the House of Lords.

They are coming under huge pressure from our opponents.

They are being wrongly accused of ‘filibustering’ (a term from US politics to describe deliberately blocking legislation by endless debating so that time runs out and it falls).

In fact, what is being misleadingly cast as blocking tactics is simply Parliamentary due diligence.

As one senior Labour MP put it:

“It [the Leadbeater Bill] only just scraped through the Commons by 23 votes because MPs were told that the Lords would scrutinise it carefully.

And that’s what the Lords are doing, with every debate revealing more holes and more problems with this proposed law.”

In addition, a More in Common poll published last week found fewer than half of those questioned (44%) expressed the belief that the House of Lords is deliberately trying to delay the Bill rather than taking time to go through legitimate concerns.

Experts and professional groups that have opposed or raised significant concerns include:

• The Royal College of Pathologists warned that its members would have to “review the process leading up to the decision to authorise an assisted death and the circumstances of the assisted death, which they are not qualified to do.” That could include probing whether safeguards were followed or if there was coercion, deception or other serious issues at play.
• The Association for Palliative Medicine, representing over 1,300 palliative medicine doctors in the UK, has stated it “opposes any change in the law to license doctors to supply or administer lethal drugs to a patient to enable them to take their own life.”
• The British Geriatrics Society reported that many of its members are “not confident that effective legal safeguards could be developed to protect older people from unwarranted harms.”
• Academics and Barristers: 73 leading academic experts in the fields of health, end-of-life care and the law signed an open letter to MPs warning that the Bill's safeguards are insufficient and would put vulnerable people at risk.

The Academics and Barristers emphasised that the dangers of allowing individual autonomy to trump all other considerations, the letter warned:

“Laws must be concerned for the safety of the whole population, especially the most vulnerable.”

It also noted that “research has shown that a person’s stated wish to die is frequently unstable and depends on the care and support they receive [or lack of]”.

Former President of the Family Division of the High Court, the late Sir James Munby, stated the Bill falls "lamentably short of providing adequate safeguards".

Former Chief Coroner of England and Wales, Thomas Teague KC, has warned that a key provision in the Bill would prevent coroners from routinely investigating assisted deaths as they would other unnatural deaths, potentially allowing cases of coercion to go undetected.

Disability Rights Groups: multiple disability rights organisations have opposed the Bill, citing concerns that it could put pressure on disabled and vulnerable people to end their lives.

The National Down Syndrome Policy Group has warned that every person with Down Syndrome would be eligible for assisted suicide under the Bill.

Illustrating how dangerous a step this would be, a professional who works with people with Down Syndrome warned:

“Years ago, I did a benefit appeal for a client with Down syndrome.

He was so suggestible [that] he agreed with the benefits assessor that he could successfully navigate across town.

I got the same positive answer when I asked if he could fly an aeroplane.”

The list goes on.

As things stand, the Bill is set to run out of time and fall.

It looks unlikely that Peers will have time to debate all the proposed amendments before the current Parliamentary session ends (late April/early May).

When a session ends, any legislation that has not completed its passage through both Houses of Parliament is generally 'lost' and must start from scratch in the new session.

We must guard against complacency

However, it is too soon to celebrate victory, because:

1. Our opponents are threatening to use the Parliament Acts

These allow the House of Commons to bypass the House of Lords should it repeatedly block a public bill. The Bill’s supporters could circumvent the Lords altogether—avoiding its scrutiny—by reintroducing the Leadbeater Bill in the House of Commons at the next session of Parliament (May 2026), then (if it passes) seek Royal Assent without the Lords’ consent.

• This would require MPs to pass the Bill in the same form it last left the Commons. It could include Lords’ changes from this session, but most of the changes currently under discussion (a) won’t be voted on until report stage, and (b) have in any case been rebuffed by Lord Falconer.

2. Disgruntled opponents could push legislation through in other ways

Presently, some are working to weaken the House of Lords’ powers to scrutinise legislation.

• The Observer reported this month that a new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for “wholesale” House of Lords reform is being set up by pro-assisted suicide MPs Simon Opher and Kit Malthouse.

The new APPG will look at “how a minority of peers have been able to use filibustering to block a bill”.

(FACT CHECK: a firm majority – around two-thirds – of the 160 Peers who spoke or else were represented across two days of the Second Reading debate last September expressed opposition to the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill.)

While APPGs have no official law-making powers, when they are well-funded – as pro-Bill groups tend to be – they can have considerable influence among fellow politicians and feed friendly media outlets propaganda to print and broadcast.

The coming weeks and months will be crucial.

Winning the media war is vital.

We are bracing for media attacks on those Peers who refuse to be bullied into allowing vulnerable people to be abandoned to systematic killing or see the ‘checking and balancing’ role of the House of Lords undermined.

Indeed, former Telegraph and Spectator editor Lord Moore, warned in December that lobbyists working for our opponents are already attempting to influence the debate in Parliament:

“I know very well what happens—how to recognise when we’re being pushed to do a story.

“In the last two weeks, all the British media have been pressed very hard, by lobbyists in favour of this [Leadbeater] Bill, to produce a series of highly contentious arguments which attack anybody who tries to debate this Bill fully.”

SECOND: Scotland (McArthur) Bill

Major question marks also hang over the Scottish assisted suicide bill.

1. With the McArthur bill set to be voted on again on 17th March, just 7 weeks before the Scottish Parliament election, Holyrood proponents of that bill are getting nervous. Many MSPs who have doubts about the bill are worried that this might be an election-defining issue for many of their constituents.
2. The Health Committee at Holyrood wrote to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as important legal questions have arisen as to the Bill’s compatibility with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
3. Provisions for the protection of conscientious objection rights for NHS clinical staff — those who would be tasked with carrying out assisted deaths — will have to be stripped out of the Bill at Stage 3 in March because medical regulation is a power over which Holyrood has no legislative competence.

This could be a major stumbling block for our opponents as the area of employment rights is a matter reserved for the UK Government, whose approval would be required before the Bill could come into force. Already, some MSPs who voted for the bill at Stage 1 are expressing concerns about the conscience protection for medics and nurses being removed from the Bill.

BUT should these legal wrangles be settled in time and the final (Stage 3) vote scheduled for mid-March be lost, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would pass.

Should that happen, our opponents would gain valuable political capital for law change south of the border, arguing on ‘equality’ grounds that the people in other parts of Great Britain (including England and Wales) should also be legally entitled to an assisted death.

The best outcome would be for the Scottish bill to be voted down next month.

The final vote is expected to be very close.

A CNK social media campaign targeted at Scottish voters is a major priority.

We urgently need Scots to contact their MSPs to make their concerns over the Bill clear, and with the Scottish elections due in May, there couldn’t be a better time to make their case.

THIRD: Isle of Man

The Isle of Man’s landmark Assisted Dying Bill – the first to be passed in Great Britain – is being held up.

It needs to secure Royal Assent before the end of the current administration (September 2026) before it can come into force.

But this may NOT happen.

Major development

Last year, I wrote to the then-Lord Chancellor & Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, arguing that the Manx Bill contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights.

I pointed out that, should the Lord Chancellor recommend the Bill for Royal Assent (the final stage in a bill becoming law), it may breach the UK’s international obligations.

The Manx bill requires the UK government’s approval before it can receive Royal Assent.

Last week, the island's Chief Minister, Alfred Cannan, announced that the UK Ministry of Justice had asked for clarification on codes of practice to accompany the Manx bill, regarding matters relating to human rights law compliance mentioned in my letter, specifically:

• Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which upholds the ‘right to life’

The MOJ has also asked for clarification about capacity legislation in the Isle of Man. Mr Cannan stated that the Bill “…cannot commence until safeguards, oversight mechanisms and protections are in place…”

If amendments have to be made on the face of the bill, the proposed legislation would need to be debated again by the House of Keys, and considered also by the Legislative Council, the upper chamber of the Manx Parliament (Tynwald). At present, the two Governments are considering a Code of Practice which CNK believes is insufficient to meet the requirements of Article 2.

Care NOT Killing needs donations to stop assisted suicide from being legalized in the UK (Donation Link).

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.

Canadian doctor says assisted dying law is being used by more people than anticipated

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Dr Ramona Coelho

Canadian Dr Ramona Coelho told Manx radio in the Isle of Man that Canada's euthanasia legislation is being used more often than people anticipated.

Manx radio reported that:

A Canadian doctor has claimed that the assisted dying law, passed in her country, is being used by more people than anticipated despite it being hailed as an ‘exceptional’ procedure.

Dr Ramona Coelho, spoke to some members of the House of Keys yesterday (11 June) whilst MHKs were considering the clauses of the Isle of Man’s Assisted Dying Bill.

She’s told Manx Radio there were 13,000 assisted deaths in 2022 and around 16,000 last year.

Dr Coelho says she’s concerned about how the law impacts the most marginalised of people.

Coelho is a family physician whose practise focuses on marginalized Canadians.

Previous articles concerning Dr Ramona Coelho

Isle of Man amends euthanasia bill to require self-administration

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition opposes both euthanasia and assisted suicide because both are methods of killing people. Euthanasia requires the doctor, or some other person, to administer the lethal poison, while assisted suicide requires the person to self-administer the lethal poison that has been prescribed by a doctor or other person.

Whether the person self-administers or the doctor, or some other person administers the lethal person, both acts require the direct involvement of another person to carry out the death.

Nonetheless, the latest Isle of Man euthanasia debate led to an amendment to the proposal to remove the option of euthanasia, while leaving assisted suicide within the law. Ashlea Tracey reported for BBC that:

Terminally ill residents would have to self administer an approved substance to end their lives under proposed new assisted-dying laws on the Isle of Man.

Politicians discussed aspects of the legislation including how medicines would be prescribed, delivered and administered at the latest sitting of the House of Keys.

The original wording of the Assisted Dying Bill 2023, a private members bill brought forward by Alex Allinson MHK, included the option of requesting the help of a doctor.

However, members backed amendments by Julie Edge MHK and Julie Edge MHK to remove that choice from the proposed new laws.

Ms Corlett argued the "last action should be taken by the person" who wanted to end their own life.

In response, Dr Allinson said while a "large number" of responses to a public consultation agreed physicians should be able to administer the substance but he conceded "there had been clear evidence given to us that perhaps this was a line too far".

Allinson's goal is to legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide. Allinson knows that it is harder to legalize assisted dying than to expand the law once it is legal.

For instance, Canada's legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2016. The original law included a "terminal illness" requirement in the law. Canada expanded their law in 2021 by removing the "terminal illness" requirement, removing the 10-day waiting period for terminally ill people (allowing a same-day death), removing the requirement that the person be competent when the lethal poison is administered and permitting euthanasia for mental illness alone.

In the US, 10 States have legalized assisted suicide and nearly all of those states have expanded their assisted suicide laws since legalization.

People who oppose euthanasia must never "cut a deal" to support a bill that permits poisoning people by assisted suicide, but not euthanasia. Once the bill is legalized, within a few years, the kill bill will be expanded.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition opposes the poisoning of people to death by doctors administering euthanasia or doctors prescribing assisted suicide.

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.

Jurisdictions that legalize euthanasia or assisted suicide will regret it. Just look at Canada.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

I am just returning from a speaking tour which included meetings with elected representatives in Scotland and the Isle of Man. Both jurisdictions are debating the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide. While in Scotland, a news story was published concerning Keir Starmer, the leader of the UK Labour party, who promised that if elected he would bring forth a bill to legalize assisted dying.

At the same time the French President, Emmanuel Macron, announced that an "assisted dying" bill would be introduced on May 27. As horrific as Canada's experience with euthanasia has been, the terrible euthanasia stories out of Canada is creating a hesitancy in other countries when they debate legalizing poisoning by doctors.

The recent article by Michael Deacon that was published in the Daily Telegraph is titled: If Starmer legalises assisted dying, we’ll live to regret it... Euthanasia may start off as being for those with terminal illnesses, but its justification would soon blur – just look at Canada.

Deacon writes:

“I’m personally in favour of changing the law,” Sir Keir Starmer told Dame Esther in a personal phone call – before promising her that a Labour government would give MPs a vote on it. “Esther,” he declared, “I can give you that commitment right now.”

Admittedly, Sir Keir has a less than 100 per cent record on honouring his “commitments”. In the past, I’ve often criticised him for it. In this particular case, though, I hope he performs another of his famous U-turns. Because, if he does legalise assisted suicide, I fear we’ll live to regret it.

Deacon continues:

Have they really managed to miss all the horror stories coming out of Canada?

Assisted suicide was legalised there in 2016. And ever since, there have been numerous cases showing how humane intentions can lead to chilling consequences. Take the 61-year-old man who was euthanised in 2019, even though the only health problem he’d listed on his application form was hearing loss. Or the 41-year-old woman who was euthanised in 2021 after telling doctors she wanted to end the suffering caused by her fibromyalgia. In private, however, she’d told friends that she actually wanted to die because she was so poor

Deacon makes it clear, Canada's experience will also happen in the UK:

We may tell ourselves that we’d never let that happen here. But I wouldn’t be so sure. After all, Canadians have long held a well-deserved reputation for being the nicest people on earth. And yet all of a sudden, here they are, eagerly clamouring to bump off the poor. Forget helping them find a decent home and a solid job. Just slip them a lovely, lethal dose of propofol. Well, it’s an awful lot cheaper.

This is the trouble with assisted dying. You start off legalising it solely for people suffering from terminal illness. But then there’s pressure to legalise it for other health conditions, and depression, and eating disorders, and drug addiction – until before you know it, you daren’t even visit your GP any more, for fear of what he might prescribe.

Deacon ends his article with some cautious leavity:

“Good morning, doctor. I think I’ve sprained my ankle.”

“Not to worry. There’s a wonderful new treatment that’s guaranteed to end your pain. And not just in your ankle, either.”

Such a scenario may sound far-fetched. Not least because getting a GP appointment in this country is next to impossible. But even so, it’s as well not to grant the state too much power – because it may well end up using that power in ways we never intended.

Think how often we’re warned that the future of our very society is imperilled by our rapidly ageing population. Back in 2010, Martin Amis proposed a solution. On each citizen’s 70th birthday, he or she would be handed “a martini and a medal”, and then marched to a street corner “euthanasia booth”.

Amis was of course joking. At least, he thought he was.

Deacon is correct. When Canada legalized euthanasia we were told that we wouldn't follow the Netherlands and Belgium experience. In fact, we are surpassing them.

CNK responds to second reading vote on Isle of Man Euthanasia bill

This message was released by Dr Gordon Macdonald, the CEO of the Care Not Killing Alliance.

 Media Release October 31

“Providing high quality palliative care and supporting people at the end... is what we would urge the members of the House of Keys focus on and pull back from this dangerous and ideological policy.”

Members of the Isle of Man's House of Keys today voted to grant Dr. Alex Allinson's Assisted Dying Bill a second reading. The bill still faces many legislative hurdles:

"Once the House has resolved that a Bill be read a second time, at least one subsequent sitting must pass before consideration of the Bill's clauses may take place. This stage requires the Member in charge of the Bill to move that each clause stand part of the Bill. It gives Members the opportunity to debate each clause, to seek an explanation from the sponsor of the Bill as to the effect of particular clauses, and to move amendments."

MHKs will vote next week on whether:

"The Clauses of the Assisted Dying Bill 2023 be referred to a Committee of five Members to consider and report by the end of February 2024.

Dr. Gordon Macdonald

Dr. Gordon Macdonald, CEO of Care Not Killing commented:

"It is disappointing that given the chilling stories coming out of Canada, representatives in the House of Keys have decided to take another step towards legalising euthanasia.

"As we see in a small number of places that have removed long term universal protections, by allowing the deliberate ending of human life with death row drugs, many vulnerable people will feel pressured into ending their lives. This is exactly what we see in Canada, which introduced euthanasia in 2016, where thousands who are killed annually cite fear of being a burden or loneliness as a reason.

"There are other problems too. As we see in the Netherlands and Belgium limits on who qualifies for a lethal injection have been swept away. No longer is state aided killing limited to those with less than six months to live, but routinely includes disabled people, those with chronic non-terminal conditions and individuals with mental health problems, such as patients with dementia, treatable depression, anorexia even a victim of sexual abuse.

"And then there is the worrying data from the US and Europe that shows legalising euthanasia and assisted suicide, far from reducing the number of suicides seems to be associated with an increase in the numbers taking their own lives in the general population, perhaps because it normalises the idea lives not worth living."

Dr Macdonald concluded: "While killing is cheap, providing high quality palliative care and supporting people at the end is not, but this is what we would urge the members of the House of Keys focus on and pull back from this dangerous and ideological policy." 

More information on the Isle of Man euthanasia bill:

• Isle of Man parliament to vote on assisted suicide bill (Link).

Isle of Man parliament to VOTE on Assisted Suicide bill.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Isle of Man Parliament

We have received an update from the Care Not Killing Alliance (UK) urging supporters to act immediately as the Parliament in the Isle of Man will be voting on the Assisted Dying Bill on October 31, 2023. The message stated:

The Isle of Man Parliament (Tynwald) votes on the Second Reading of the island’s Assisted Dying Bill TOMORROW.

The Second Reading is when the main ideas behind the bill are debated and first voted on.

With pressure to change the law already mounting in Scotland, Jersey and Westminster, tomorrow’s vote in the Tynwald will carry considerable significance.

What happens in the following days, weeks and months will likely decide the outcome across the British Isles.

Care Not Killing needs their supporters to make a donation as they work to defeat the bill. (Care Not Killing donation link).

Ashlea Tracey reported for BBC News on October 18, 2023 that Isle of Man doctors reject assisted suicide.

The survey of Isle of Man Medical Society members found that 74% of the respondents were against legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. 

Tracey reported: 

About 74% of those who responded to the poll asking members for opinions on the Assisted Dying Bill 2023 said they were against the proposed changes.

The poll also found 34% of respondents would consider leaving the island if the new legislation was introduced.

It is due to have its second reading in the House of Keys on 31 October.

Tracey stated that 61% of Isle of Man Medical Society members responded to the poll. The survey indicates that 74% were against the proposal to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide while 19% indicated that they were willing to participate if legalized.

Since 34% of the respondents stated that they would consider leaving the island if euthanasia or assisted suicide were legal, legalizing euthanasia may create recruitment and retention concerns for medical professionals.

The Isle of Man needs to learn from Canada's experience with euthanasia and reject it. 

Alex Schadenberg will be speaking in the Isle of Man in early November.

Isle of Man (UK) doctors overwhelmingly reject assisted suicide

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

Ashlea Tracey reported for BBC News on October 18, 2023 that doctors from the Isle of Man have rejected assisted suicide. The Isle of Man is debating a bill that would legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. It is expected that MHK Alex Allinson’s Assisted Dying Bill 2023 will have its second reading on October 31.

The survey of Isle of Man Medical Society members found that 74% of the respondents were against legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. 

Tracey reported: 

About 74% of those who responded to the poll asking members for opinions on the Assisted Dying Bill 2023 said they were against the proposed changes.

The poll also found 34% of respondents would consider leaving the island if the new legislation was introduced.

It is due to have its second reading in the House of Keys on 31 October.

Tracey stated that 61% of Isle of Man Medical Society members responded to the poll. The survey indicates that 74% were against the proposal to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide while 19% indicated that they were willing to participate if legalized.

Since 34% of the respondents stated that they would consider leaving the island if euthanasia or assisted suicide were legal, legalizing euthanasia may create recruitment and retention concerns for medical professionals.

The Isle of Man needs to examine Canada's experience with euthanasia and reject it. Alex Schadenberg will be speaking in the Isle of Man in early November.

Isle of Man rejects assisted suicide.

Alex Schadenberg
Executive Director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition

The Isle of Man rejected a motion to consider legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide (assisted death). After a five-hour debate the House of Keys rejected to call for further investigation into changing the assisted suicide laws.

Dr Gordon Macdonald, Chief Executive of Care Not Killing, commented in their media release:

“This is a sensible decision that will bring relief to those with terminal and chronic conditions on the Isle of Man and who fear changing the law on assisted suicide and euthanasia.

“Laws such as the Isle of Man’s Criminal Law Act which prohibit assisted suicide and euthanasia are essential to protect vulnerable people. The operation of the Suicide Act and murder legislation in other parts of the British Isles, covering assisted suicide and euthanasia has been reviewed dozens of times by MPs, MSPs, peers, other elected officials, judges even the former Director of Public Prosecution. Every time, they have rejected introducing a law that would discriminate against the terminally ill and disabled people by removing long held universal protections.

The current laws ensure all people are treated equally and deters vulnerable people at risk of abuse and of coming under pressure, real or perceived to end their lives prematurely, which is what the evidence from around the world shows.

Dr Gordon Macdonald

Dr Macdonald also commented on the Canadian experience with legalized assisted death:

“If further evidence was needed, then Canada provides this. In 2016, Canada changed their law to allow terminally ill people to request assisted suicide and euthanasia. In just four years the numbers of those dying in this way has gone from just over 1,000 to more than 5,000 per year. Then in September, the Quebec Superior Court struck down the requirement that a person be terminally ill before they qualify for euthanasia in Canada, opening up assisted suicide and euthanasia to those suffering with chronic conditions and mental health problems.

“Indeed in July a depressed, but otherwise healthy 61-year-old man, was euthanised in the province of British Columbia. Alan Nichols, a former school caretaker who lived alone and had struggled with depression, was killed by lethal injection in Chilliwack General Hospital.

Dr Macdonald concluded:

“No wonder not a single doctors group or major disability rights organisation supports changing the law, including the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Physicians, the British Geriatric Society and the Association for Palliative Medicine. The current laws prohibiting assisted suicide and euthanasia do not need changing.”

It is terrible that Canada is experiencing the number of deaths and abuse of our laws, but at least others are recognizing our folly and deciding not to follow Canada's lead.

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.