A group of more than 50 health and social care workers, including the clinical director at Hospice Isle of Man, are calling for the progression of the Assisted Dying Bill to be dropped.

It comes after a public consultation on the matter found that of the 3,326 respondents 49.61% disagreed that assisted dying should be permitted for terminally-ill adults in the Isle of Man, with 49.01% of respondents saying that they agree that it should be available.

Ramsey MHK Dr Alex Allinson was given leave to introduce a Private Member’s Bill providing for assisted dying in the Isle of Man in June 2022.

A public consultation was run over eight weeks from December 2022 to January 2023 to explore some of the policies and procedures involved in drafting such a proposed law.

A spokesperson for Manx Duty of Care, a group of Manx health and social care workers who oppose assisted dying legislation, said: ‘Although it was a close result, a majority of respondents to the consultation agree that legalising assisted dying in the Isle of Man would create more problems than it solves.’

‘Despite the clear bias in favour of assisted dying in the promotion, preamble, questions and report, the message is clear.

‘On January 12 this year an article about Dr Allinson’s views in the Manx Independent stated that if the consultation found in favour, then the Bill would go ahead.

‘So now that a majority of respondents are against it, we propose he should stop using valuable Tynwald time on this.’

Dr Ben Harris, president of the Isle of Man Medical Society and clinical director of Hospice Isle of Man, said: ‘I was delighted to see the results of the consultation which constitute a democratic rejection of assisted dying legislation on the Isle of Man.

‘If this proposed Bill is allowed to go forward it will provide more choice for the privileged, but put undue pressure on the sick, aged, poor, disabled and vulnerable to end their lives prematurely.

‘It would irreparably damage our caring Manx society.

‘The experience in other jurisdictions has demonstrated there is no safe way to legislate for assisted dying and it should now be dropped completely.

‘I thank so many for the warm words of appreciation and support for Hospice Isle of Man. This encourages us to strive for even better palliative care for all, and to eliminate that fear of the dying process, which was movingly expressed by some respondents.

‘The Isle of Man has spoken!’

Manx Duty of Care has invited Dr Claud Regnard, an honorary consultant in palliative care at St Oswald’s Hospice Newcastle, to visit the island.

He will speak on the topic, his area of special expertise, at public meetings on May 16 and 17.

The report which broke down the results of the public consultation said: ‘The consultation was not an opinion poll or form of referendum on the issue as it is inevitable that people with strong views of all persuasions were more likely to participate.

‘During the consultation there was extensive publicity in the media regarding assisted dying, leaflets and information was distributed widely and several public meetings were organised to generate wider debate.’

A letter from a doctor who has a very different opinion to Dr Harris appears in today's Manx Independent.