Motion for assisted dying bill to be scrutinised by committee

Politicians are set to vote whether the clauses of the bill should be examined by a committee

A five-member committee should be established to consider how proposed assisted dying laws would work in practice, an MHK has said.

A private members bill, which would give terminally-ill Manx residents the right to die, progressed in the House of Keys last week.

Rob Callister said the group of MHKs would "break down" the 14 clauses of the bill.

If politicians back the move a report would be delivered by February.

The second reading of the Assisted Dying Bill 2023 saw 17 out of 24 members of the island's directly elected lower house back the bill's progress to the clauses stage.

The clauses of the bill, which has been brought forward by Alex Allinson MHK, outline the detail of the proposed legislation including what constitutes a terminal illness and how assistance in dying would be given.

Proposed assisted dying laws moved forward in the House of Keys on 31 October

Mr Callister said there were some aspects of the bill that could be discussed in a "committee of the whole house", such as how long a person must have been a Manx resident to be eligible.

But he said a clause about death certification, which would record an assisted death, "opened up wider questions" about how a resident's life or mortgage insurance could be affected.

"I want to be absolutely clear we do not have a situation in future where someone's policy is null and void because they've accessed this service," he said.

The MHK said the Isle of Man had "plenty of time" to examine the bill to ensure it was "the very best for the people of this island".

"This is not about throwing it into the political long grass, this is about getting the legislation right," he added.

MHKs will vote on Mr Callister's motion to have a committee established during Tuesday's House of Keys sitting.

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]