[Heading: Flag of the Isle of Man]
The Manx “Assisted Dying Bill 2023” passed the “Second Reading” in the House of Keys on 31 October 2023.
The Isle of Man has a complex relationship with the UK as a self-governing British Crown Dependency, similar to the Channel Islands. They are not part of the United Kingdom (UK) nor are they a British Overseas Territory!
Mann has a remarkable parliamentary history: “Tynwald claims to be the oldest continuous parliamentary assembly in the world, with a tradition of over 1,000 years of meetings being held.”
What occurs on Mann in relation to Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia will have vastly more influence than normally attributed to 84,000 people living on some remote, 222 square-mile island in the Irish Sea. That is why Sarah Wootton, CEO of Dignity in Dying traveled there for the vote on 31 October 2023.
Dr. Allinson MHK; Sarah Wootton (CEO of Dignity in Dying) and the enormous pro-death crowd…
Tynwald: parliament of the Isle of Man.
This vote is very early in the Manx legislative process, but is still meaningful. It was their first vote on the Bill and 17 members voted For and 7 Against.
(Tynwald is the parliament of the Isle of Man. The lower chamber is the House of Keys — the directly elected branch of parliament. The upper house is The Legislative Council.)
There is only ~84,000 people on Mann.
This is not a big population for the typical escalator of increasing numbers which has occurred in every other country — especially if they later extend euthanasia to non-terminal conditions. (Look to Canada.) If Member of the House of Keys [MHK] want compassionate care for their citizens, they should introduce guaranteed access to expert palliative care 24/7/365.
As has been shown time after time — care is expensive: poison is cheap.
The Assisted Dying Bill 2023
Much of this Manx Bill is similar to other jurisdictions — such as only needing 2 health-care professionals to approve the process. (Obviously, Dr. Allison is already ‘on side.’)
The euphemistic title — “Assisted Dying” — hides in-plain-sight the true meaning of the Bill. As is, this Bill will legalize Voluntary Euthanasia.
(Usually “Assisted Dying” refers to Assisted Suicide [AS], which is when the person takes or administers the poison themselves. Voluntary Euthanasia [VE] is where the medical attendant directly administers the poison with the intent of killing the person.)
Below are the relevant clauses clipped directly from the Bill.
Section 7 Clause 5:
Section 7 Clause 7:
This Bill has one difference to others jurisdictions which should garner a little credit. It proposes a bar on health-care professionals from initiating the conversation about Assisted Suicide or Euthanasia.
Section 9 Clause 1:
That said, the initiation of a discussion on AS/VE is specifically excluded from being an “Offense” under the Bill by Section 9 clause 3. Practitioners might face disciplinary action from their own regulatory body, but this Bill has no teeth to prevent those conversations from occurring.
Section 9 Clause 3:
Legislative Process.
The process in the Manx parliament is quite complex.
The “First Reading” is the introduction of a Bill to parliament: that occurred 27 Jun 2023. The Second Reading allows for broad questions of intent: that started on 24 Oct 2023 and finished 31 October. The next stage is the “Clauses” stage which is a detailed review of the Bill — that is slated to start on 28 Nov 2023. The “Third Reading” happens 05 Dec 2023 and this is when the Bill can be rejected or sent forward to the Legislative Council, where there is a similar 4-stage process. Depending on what amendments are made, the Bill may return for review in the House of Keys and may go back and forth.
Mann residents should be aware of what is coming if the Assisted Dying Bill 2023 is passed.
Kevin Hay
(You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 — formerly Twitter — @ kevinhay77)