Both the 2015 Marris Bill and the 2026 Leadbeater-Edwards Bill were debated (and rejected) the day after World Suicide Prevention Day, a pairing which perhaps focussed some MPs’ minds.
A similar pairing saw a different outcome this week. In the Isle of Man, a community group protested outside Tynwald on Tuesday after a committee report found that: “the Isle of Man’s suicide rate was higher than England’s in 13 of the 16 rolling three-year periods between 2006–08 and 2021–23. The latest figures cited in the report put the Isle of Man’s rate at 13.9 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 10.7 in England.”
That same day, it was announced that the Isle of Man’s “assisted dying” legislation has, after a long delay caused by the bill’s weaknesses with regard to human rights obligations, received Royal Assent and is now law.
The Leadbeater-Edwards Bill contained an auto-commencement clause which meant that it would have come into effect fully after four years, “even if the Government or the NHS are not ready, even if there is no funding, even if palliative care is still broken, and even if it is known to be dangerous, flawed or unworkable, then it is still happening, ready or not.”
“No implementation date has been agreed, and the Department of Health and Social Care says the service will not begin until it is confident it is ready.
The department will now establish a formal policy and implementation programme… Some of the work depends on other legislation being in force first. The Government says assisted dying cannot begin until specific provisions of the Capacity Act are implemented, which is currently expected by April 2028.”
They will likely struggle to allay healthcare professionals’ fears, however.
74% of Isle of Man Medical Society members oppose the law change and its new President says there has been insufficient engagement with doctors. The group has outlined four areas of ongoing concern:
“Coercive behaviour towards vulnerable members of the community, such as the elderly, disabled individuals and those living with mental health conditions.”
“Questions around the regulation of the service, including which drugs will be used, and what protections will be in place for doctors.”
“It’s warned Manx Care that an assisted dying service could threaten to destabilise essential health and social care services on the Island.”
“It’s also seeking assurances over conscientious objection for medics who don’t wish to take part in assisted deaths.”
The new law has fundamental flaws, however, and the local campaign group Manx Duty of Care has urged newly elected members of Tynwald to repeal it.
“The group has argued that the legislation breaches the European Convention on Human Rights, the Isle of Man NHS Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
“ManxDOC has also questioned whether the amendments made during the Bill’s passage provide sufficient protection, and raised concerns about how assisted dying would be implemented alongside existing healthcare services.”
Attention will now turn to mitigating the harms of the new law, but in this year when against huge odds, assisted suicide bills were thrown out at Westminster and Holyrood, we should not lose heart. As Slovenia, Alberta, and Canada have shown, pushback is possible, and we stand in solidarity with those islanders working to expose this new law’s weaknesses.
(Image: public domain/Creative Commons)