Alex Allinson said that he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ ahead of the second reading of the Assisted Dying Bill. 

This morning hundreds of people gathered in front of the Tynwald building with some showing their support, and others protesting against the bill.

The matter will be debated later today before MHKs vote on it.

Dr Allinson, who proposed the bill said: ‘I'm cautiously optimistic that today the Members of the House of Keys will vote to take the next step in what is a long process to analyse how we could provide assisted dying for the people of the Isle of Man in a safe, secure way that meets their needs, but also meet some of the concerns and worries by the wider community. 

‘I think there’s a lot of people concerned about some of the intricate details of how the law would be brought into play.  

‘But what we have got to say in terms of the second reading is the acceptance of the key principles of the Assisted Dying Bill. 

‘I think if we can get that through the House of Keys then we can take our time to work through the various ways of how we provide it, with full consultation of the medical profession, the nursing profession and the pharmacists. 

‘What we are tasked to do as parliamentarians, is to make sure we craft the legislation in exactly the right way so that we have those checks and balances and safeguards.’