The Isle of Man’s Assisted Dying Bill will continue to be debated in the coming weeks after attempts to delay the debate were defeated by a large majority.
During this week’s clauses stage debate, which began on Tuesday (June 25) and continued yesterday (June 26), MHKs rejected 14 to 9 an amendment to postpone the debate until after the summer recess in November and voted down further amendments to postpone debates on other clauses.
MHKs also voted on further detail of the Bill and unanimously supported amendments to increase the safeguards in the legislation by adding further offences to protect against the possibility of coercion.
Debate
Debates last month saw large majorities backing key Clauses, and constructive amendments to the Bill.
In the first session, MHKs voted by a large margin for the eligibility of assisted dying to be for those who have been given a prognosis of 12 months left to live, while they voted for the eligibility to be open to those have been residents of the Isle of Man for a minimum of five years.
At the second session, attempts to severely limit access for eligible patients and to remove the choice from healthcare entirely were defeated.
During the third session, held earlier this month, MHKs voted in favour of limiting assisted dying to self-administration, removing the possibility of a doctor directly ending the life of their patient.
Assisted Dying Bill
The Assisted Dying Bill, introduced by Dr Allinson, MHK for Ramsey and a GP, proposes that the option of assisted dying should be available as a choice for terminally ill, mentally competent residents, subject to strict safeguards.
Two in three (66%) people in the Isle of Man support the introduction of assisted dying as an option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, with more than half (53%) indicating strong support, a survey released in October 2023 found.
The Bill will continue to be scrutinised by the House of Keys on July 9, including a debate and vote on whether to subject the Bill to approval by a referendum, which would considerably delay further progress of the bill.
After the Clauses stage the Bill is expected to receive a Third Reading in the House of Keys in the coming months.
If it passes this stage it will progress onto the Legislative Council for further debate and scrutiny.
The Bill could then receive Royal Assent as soon as next year, followed by consideration of how the legislation will be implemented, with assisted dying potentially available to terminally ill Manx residents from 2027.
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