Attempts to legalise assisted suicide have failed in Westminster and in Holyrood, however there is one place in the British Isles which has approved the controversial procedure – the Isle of Man.
The crown dependency’s own bill received Royal Assent on 16 October and was announced in the Tynwald - the Isle of Man Parliament - on 20 October.
While the bill permits medically assisted suicide, it is unlikely - for now - to turn the Isle of Man into a “death tourism” spot similar to Switzerland as only adults who have lived on the island for five or more years and have a terminal illness with less than a year to live will be eligible.
Additionally, it is not clear when the law will practically come into effect. The government of the island said, “The Act will not come into force until all practical, clinical and safeguarding arrangements have been agreed.”
The Department of Health and Social Care has been charged with establishing a formal policy on the issue and working out how to implement the measure “with clear governance and accountability”.
Staff need to be trained, safeguards need to be implemented and other financial and practical issues need to be considered. Indeed, the government stated other safeguarding laws had to be in place before assisted suicide could commence, meaning that it will not be available until April 2028 at the very earliest.
The government said, “The service will not begin until government is confident it is genuinely ready. This will require listening carefully to those affected, drawing on clinical, legal and safeguarding expertise, and remaining open with Tynwald about the decisions still to be made.”
Safeguards have proven to be one of the most contentious issues in the debates in Westminster and Holyrood about assisted suicide.
The failure of Kim Leadbeater’s Westminster bill was attributed partly to being held up in the Lords by peers concerned about the lack of safeguards. MPs later rejected an almost identical bill put forward by Lauren Edwards, despite having previously supported the Leadbeater bill, with inadequate safeguards a key issue for many.
Campaigners have also pointed with concern to jurisdictions where assisted suicide is legal to highlight how safeguards are eroded over time and increasing numbers of people choose to die in this manner.
