MHKs have voted to return four amendments on the Assisted Dying Bill to the Legislative Council.
There was significant unhappiness about the state of the Bill as members criticised a lack of safeguards.
Members spent over an hour debating the amendments made by LegCo and rejected a bid by Julie Edge (Onchan) to adjourn for two weeks to allow for further changes.
Kate Lord-Brennan said that the Bill should have been bounced back by MLCs and told members it is “not fit for purpose” and “will come with severe and serious consequences for the Isle of Man”.
Ms Edge supported this stance and said the Bill is “very dangerous” without proper safeguards.
She later added: “I feel this is a really bad day for the social contract, for the Isle of Man and for our people, the most vulnerable in our society.”
Chris Thomas (Dougas Central) also said that supporters had been “naive” about the ability to move before other jurisdictions.
Further concerns by MHKs about the island moving before the UK and the risks this could bring were not supported.
Fobbed Off
Commenting after the sitting concluded, Kate Lord-Brennan (Glenfaba & Peel) said that “some of us tried to get proper regulation and oversight included, via proposed amendment in the Keys last year, but were ultimately fobbed off”.
She added: “The bill is not for purpose, the main goal has been to be the first, and it’s weaker than proposed UK legislation.”
6 Comments