Terminally ill people on the island of man will get 'autonomy and choice' at the end of their lives, a general practitioner and politician said while his assisted dying bill took his last step to become a law.
The island is probably the first part of the British Isles to legalize assisted dying after the proposed legislation has been voted on by the upper chamber of parliament.
Members of what is known as the legislative council approved a final reading of the supervised bill on Tuesday.
The bill will now be presented for Royal Astent, at what point the law will be.
Dr. Alex Allinson, the member of the House of Keys (MHK), who introduced the bill of the private member in 2022, said that he is hopeful that it could become law later this year and that by 2027 there could be a designated dying service.
The doctor said that he 'met many patients who wanted this option' and described it as a privilege to be able to make the bill forward.
He told the PA press agency: 'It has been a long process, but it was something that I was dedicated to continue when I entered into politics.
'I am very grateful that I can be in the privileged position to spend this legislation. In the last 20 years, people have tried the island of man to offer dignity and autonomy for those confronted with an imminent death.
“And I see this as a highlight of the efforts of many members of our community to ensure assisted dying people on the island of Man.”
As it looks now, the island of the man Bill is only for adults who lived on the island for five years who have a terminal disease with a life expectancy of no more than 12 months, and who have a fixed intention to end their lives.
Doctors are free to choose whether they want to register for providing the service, according to an earlier request from the British Medical Association (BMA) that this should be a choice.
Campaigners who were against a change in the law have expressed concern that legalizing assisted deaths could put pressure on vulnerable people to end their lives for fear of being a burden for others, and claim that the disabled, elderly, sick or depressed could be danger.
But Dr. Allinson said that although he understands and respects the views of those who were against legalization, the bill was drawn up by 'a very careful process', eligible for expert evidence.
He added that the implementation of the law will include more consultations, more guidelines, more guarantees and more parliamentary debates in terms of the underlying regulations and secondary legislation '.
He added: “This is probably legislation that will only be used by a very small number of people, but for those people it is a very important step forward, in terms of autonomy and choice at the end of your life.”
In the meantime, a committee of MPs in Westminster is approaching the end of their control of a bill to legalize assisted dying in England and Wales.
Various changes are taken into consideration of the bill of the terminally ill adults (end of life), including expert panels to decide on applications after the court of the Supreme Court of the proposed legislation has been dropped.
The bill is expected to return to the Lower House, possibly by the end of April or in May, for further debate and another vote by all MPs.
The Parliament of Jersey is expected to debate a draft law for an assisted dying service on the island for terminally sick people later this year.
With a probable implementation period of 18 months if a law is approved, Zomer 2027 would become the earliest in force.
A vote is expected separately about the supported dying for terminally ill adults (Scotland) bill in the coming weeks in Holyrood.
This is a crushing new story and is updated.
