Campaigners in Isle of Man react to assisted dying bill coming to England and Wales
ITV's Isle of Man journalist Joshua Stokes reports on an assisted dying bill being brought to Westminster
Campaigners in the Isle of Man say its 'absolutely wonderful' to see an assisted dying bill brought to Westminster.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater recently topped the private members’ ballot, meaning her proposed bill will be the first to be debated later this month.
While private members bills rarely become law, there has been growing momentum around assisted dying legislation, particularly in the Isle of Man.
Sue Biggerstaff lives in the south of the island.
She lost her husband Simon to motor neurone disease (MND) in May 2022, following his diagnosis in July the previous year.
She said: "It just became totally intolerable for him in the end and latterly all he said was 'make it stop'... and I still hear that.
"And it's the fact that you are so useless and you can't make it stop"
Since then, Sue has been campaigning to introduce assisted dying in the Isle of Man for those who are terminally ill.
She said: "I would give every single thing I have to have been able to give that death to Simon, and that's what people deserve.
"They deserve that death, they don't deserve to die over a period of several weeks."
"To me, it's absolutely fabulous news" - Sue Biggerstaff supports the introduction of assisted dying in England and Wales
In the Isle of Man, a private members' bill was introduced by Dr Alex Allinson MHK in June 2022.
After many sittings of rigorous debate, politicians voted in favour of the bill 16:8 during its third reading in the House of Keys.
The bill now moves to the upper chamber of Tynwald, where it will receive further scrutiny by the Legislative Council.
In its current form, the bill only applies to anyone with a terminal diagnosis of 12 months or less, and they must have lived on the island for over five years.
Details for England and Wales, are yet to be established.
Chair of 'My Death, My Decision', Trevor Moore says while his group "welcomes the news" of the bill, he hopes the choice is opened up to a variety of people with incurable conditions.
He said: "It's important that the bill that comes before the house is sufficiently wide to include possibly people with incurable conditions who are suffering unbearably.
"Because if a bill is drawn too narrowly it could exclude people with conditions like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's and Huntington's, who don't fit into any neat time prognosis.
Trevor Moore from campaign group 'My Death, My Decision' is hoping the bill is widened beyond people with terminal illnesses
However, there are a number of people who are against the introduced of assisted dying.
Miro Griffiths is an academic and activist, campaigning for the rights of those with disabilities.
He fears an assisted dying service could eventually extend to those with disabilities.
He said: "When there are rigid circumstances you then have a situation where more and more campaigners will say "this doesn't include me and I want to be eligible", and as we've seen across the globe, you'll then have pressure to expand criteria.
"Many disability campaigners have been arguing for dignity in life - now it seems we're going to ignore that and focus on having 'dignity in death'."
"What you often have is pressure to expand criteria" - Miro Griffiths say people with disabilities are already discriminated against and an assisted dying service may add to the existing issues
MPs are expected to debate the matter in the House of Commons later in 2024, with a possible vote on the matter before Christmas.
The Isle of Man bill will begin to be scrutinised by the Legislative Council later in October, before being returned to the House of Keys for a final vote.
Two jurisdictions now with an ever-growing chance of an assisted dying service becoming a reality.
The start of a long process within UK legislation, now following in the footsteps of its neighbouring Isle.
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