Assisted dying bill would "shorten people's last horrific march downhill"
The Isle of Man is expected to become the first place in the British Isles to legalise assisted dying
A man from Essex, whose father took his own life in Kent, tells Greatest Hits Radio the assisted dying bill would "shorten people's last horrific march downhill".
It comes as the Isle of Man is expected to become the first place in the British Isles to legalise assisted dying today.
Gareth Ward, whose father took his own life in 2021, says he is worried the UK's own bill by Kim Leadbeater MP - which is currently in the 'Committee Stage' - may not be voted through:
"The concern is that some of those people just vote for it in principle, hoping that the Bill would be watered down in this Committee Stage, and if it isn't changed in such a way they feel comfortable with, they might vote against it when they get their second vote."
Mr Ward says he 'wishes' assisted dying was an option for his father, Norman Ward, who took his own life after suffering with prostate cancer.
"Assisted dying is very much something that my dad would have done because we could have all talked about it and come to terms with it rather than the death being so shocking and sudden".
"It isn't blanket euthanasia. It's not going to impact other vulnerable groups. It's very, very specific", says Mr Ward.
The Isle of Man is set to become the first place in the British Isles to legalise assisted dying as the final debate of Dr Alex Allinson MHK’s Assisted Dying Bill is expected today, Tuesday 25th February 2025.
The Bill proposes that lawful assisted dying should be available as a choice for terminally ill, mentally competent residents, subject to strict safeguards and alongside high-quality end-of-life care.
Two in three (66%) people in the Isle of Man support the introduction of assisted dying as an option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults - a survey released in October 2023 found.
The island's lower and upper houses have approved the Bill, and today it returns to the lower house to debate final amendments.
Once approved, it will be sent for Royal Assent and an implementation period will begin, with the choice of assisted dying potentially available to terminally ill residents from 2027.
The vote comes as Kim Leadbeater MP’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which covers England and Wales, goes through its Committee Stage in Westminster, during which the Bill Committee scrutinises the proposals line-by-line, after a majority of MPs voted to progress the Bill at its landmark Second Reading debate in November.
In Scotland, Liam McArthur MSP’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is expected to have its Stage 1 vote in the coming months.
Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “The Isle of Man is set to make history on Tuesday; likely to become the first place in the British Isles to grant its citizens true choice at the end of life."
“This process is now being echoed in Westminster, where in November MPs voted by a clear majority to advance Kim Leadbeater MP’s Bill for England and Wales.
"It is now undergoing detailed scrutiny in order to deliver a law that protects and serves dying people and – crucially – improves on the dangerous, outdated status quo. Scotland and Jersey, too, are on the path to law change. Assisted dying is a movement whose time has come across the British Isles.”