Assisted dying legalised in Isle of Man
Today (Tuesday 20 October), the Isle of Man’s Assisted Dying Bill received Royal Assent, giving terminally ill, mentally competent Manx residents the choice of an assisted death alongside access to high-quality end-of-life care. It comes after Jersey received Royal Assent for its own assisted dying bill earlier this year, and just weeks after a bill was narrowly defeated in Westminster.
The milestone is a tribute to the Manx families who campaigned for years for a change in the law. Many had watched loved ones die in pain without the choice, and shared their most personal stories with politicians and the public to make the case for reform.
Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said:
“Today is a historic and deeply emotional day for the Isle of Man, and above all for the families who made it happen. Dying Manx people now have the reassurance that, if their suffering becomes unbearable, they will not be abandoned to pain, fear or desperate alternatives.
“Terminally ill people in Douglas and St Helier will soon have a choice that is denied to dying people just a short journey away in Liverpool, London or Cardiff. That is not a sustainable position. The question for Westminster is no longer whether assisted dying can be safely legislated for: the Crown Dependencies have answered that and a majority in the Commons agree that dying people should have choice. The question now is how much longer dying people in England and Wales will be made to wait. It is a matter of when, not if, safe, compassionate change will come.”
The Bill, brought by GP and then Member of the House of Keys for Ramsey Dr Alex Allinson, completed its passage through Tynwald in March 2025, making the Isle of Man the first parliament in the UK and Crown Dependencies to approve an assisted dying law. Tynwald agreed further amendments strengthening the Bill’s safeguards in June 2026 and received Royal Assent today.
The law will allow adults who have lived on the island for at least five years, who have a terminal illness with a life expectancy of 12 months or less, and who have a clear and settled intention to end their life, to request an assisted death. Every request will be subject to strict eligibility assessments, medical oversight and independent post-death review. Regulations and codes of practice will now be developed before the service begins.
The Isle of Man now joins Jersey, whose assisted dying law received Royal Assent in July 2026. Two in three (66%) Isle of Man residents support assisted dying as an option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults, according to polling of 1,206 residents by Island Global Research in 2023.
Sarah Wootton added:
“This law now exists because of the extraordinary courage of people like Sue Biggerstaff and Millie Blenkinsop-French, who relived the most painful moments of their lives so that other families would be spared the same. We also pay tribute to Dr Alex Allinson, whose leadership and determination have carried this Bill through every stage, and to members of Tynwald for their care and resolve.
“The Isle of Man has shown what good law-making looks like: careful, compassionate and built on listening to the people it will affect most. Its law, like Jersey’s, has been scrutinised at every turn and has emerged stronger for it.”
“It’s too late for Simon, but it isn’t too late for the next family”
Among those who led the campaign for change is Sue Biggerstaff, from Ballabeg, whose husband Simon died in May 2022 after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. In the space of a few months, Simon went from walking his dog Ella to being paralysed from the neck down, unable to speak properly and in agonising pain. Simon, a lifelong TT fan, had hoped to live long enough to see one more race. Under the new law, he would have been eligible to request an assisted death.
Sue shared Simon’s story publicly and in Tynwald, urging Members of the House of Keys in 2024 not to delay the Bill’s passage.
Sue Biggerstaff said:
“Today I’m thinking of Simon. He was such a proud, active man, and motor neurone disease took everything from him so quickly. By the end he couldn’t move, he could barely speak, and he was in so much pain that he would cry out. He pleaded with me to make it stop, and there was nothing I could do. Nobody should have to watch someone they love die like that, and nobody should have to die like that.
“Simon would have been eligible under this law, and I know he would have wanted the choice. It’s too late for him, but it isn’t too late for the next family. Knowing that no one else on this island will be forced to go through what Simon went through means everything to me.
“I want to thank Dr Allinson, every member of Tynwald who listened to us, and everyone who has stood outside Tynwald with us in all weathers. We did it, Simon.”
*ENDS*
For more information, please contact Tom Steen, Media & Campaigns Officer, at tom.steen@dignityindying.org.uk or 07356135578