One year on: What's the latest for our Assisted Dying Bill?

MHK behind the bill is 'obviously concerned' at delays

One year ago this week, the Isle of Man became the first place in the British Isles to approve assisted dying legislation.

It followed lengthy, emotional debates, in both the House of Keys and Legislative Council.

We heard testimony from people on both sides of the argument, including emotive speeches from our elected representatives.

But ultimately, on 25 March 2025, LegCo voted to accept the House of Keys' changes to the proposals, setting the wheels in motion for the bill to go to the UK for royal assent.

If you missed it, back when it passed through the final stages, we summarised the story so far here.

DELAYS

But a year on, it appears we are still no closer to receiving that stamp of approval required from the UK's Lord Chancellor - currently David Lammy.

Indeed, a recently-published Freedom of Information request revealed the UK Ministry of Justice has contacted the Manx government 12 times asking for clarifications.

We asked the man behind the Manx bill, Dr Alex Allinson MHK for his take on the delays and what it means.

He told us he's 'obviously concerned' and that it's 'quite frustrating' we're still waiting for royal assent to be able to move onto the logistics of establishing how the legislation will work in practice here:

FURTHER AFIELD

Whilst the Island's legislation passed through our parliament successfully a year ago, elsewhere similar legislation has hit roadblocks.

Nearly two weeks ago, on Tuesday 17 March, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill was quashed in the Scottish Parliament.

That bill, introduced by Liam McArthur MSP, proposed to allow terminally ill, mentally competent adults in Scotland the option of an assisted death.

The vote saw 57 MSPs vote in favour of the legislation, 69 MSPs vote against and one abstain.

Similarly, it doesn't look likely that an equivalent bill in England and Wales will get through the House of Lords, with both supporters and opponents of that Assisted Dying Bill now acknowledging that time is going to run out in the current parliamentary session.

It's facing delays, despite successfully passing through the House of Commons, as more than 1,200 amendments have been tabled in the House of Lords - 700 of those by just eight peers - ahead of a May deadline.

The number of amendments is believed to be a record high.

According to BBC reporting, the UK government had granted extra time for scrutiny in the House of Lords, but peers are still only on the 13th of 14 days of debate at committee stage, with further stages yet to go through.

JERSEY

But on the flip side, what about jurisdictions where similar legislation has actually succeeded?

In February this year, a law to allow terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their own lives was approved in Jersey.

Like the Isle of Man, it now has to wait for the UK's Lord Chancellor - currently David Lammy - to make a recommendation that royal assent be granted, due to the Island's Crown Dependency status.

At the time, Jersey's Attorney General, Matthew Jowitt KC, told the States Assembly he'd be 'astonished' if Royal Assent wasn't granted, saying if that was the case, the crown dependency would be facing a 'constitutional difficulty of some magnitude', and Health Minister Tom Binet, made comments on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme, essentially saying their legislation was more robust than ours, and wouldn't face the same delays. 

We asked Dr Allinson for his take on his comments.

He says the key difference is that the Manx legislation came forward via a private members' bill, whereas Jersey's law was backed by their government from the outset:

'NOT A RACE'

When asked about the frustration he feels regarding the delays to our bill getting royal assent, and the idea that Jersey may 'beat us' to getting their laws up and running, Dr Allinson stressed 'this has never been a race':

The Ramsey member says: "It's absolutely crucial, with the community backing that we have - for that choice, for dignity and compassion when people are facing an imminent death - that we get this legislation passed, that we think really carefully about how we would implement it."

But for now, we continue to wait.