Writing to Your MHKs

This is our chance to change the law. 

Thanks to overwhelming support from their constituents, a majority of MHKs voted yes to assisted dying at Second Reading last October. But they may not continue to support the Bill at the next stages unless they know their constituents are still behind them. We must continue to let our MHKs know that we back the Assisted Dying Bill.

The single most important thing we can do to pass the Assisted Dying Bill is to write to our MHKs.

They need to hear our stories of how the ban on assisted dying fails dying people and their families, and see the growing evidence from overseas that assisted dying laws provide compassionate, safeguarded end-of-life choice to terminally ill citizens.

This guidance will provide all the information you need to write to your MHKs.

How to find your MHKs

Find your MHKs by entering your post code online on the top left here:

FIND YOUR MHK NOW

Your MHKs will appear under “constituency”. Click on their names to view their contact details.

You can send your MHKs a personal email, or a personal letter to their address. Just remember to allow more time for a letter to arrive in the post.

Assisted dying is an emotive and deeply personal subject on which many of us have strongly held views. When writing to your MHKs, always remember to remain polite and respectful, as well as passionate.

What to write

Ask your MHKs to support the Assisted Dying Bill at the next stages.

Personal experience

The most important thing to share in your letter is your personal experience. Whether you have a terminal illness yourself, or have seen a loved one suffer at the end of life, our MHKs need to hear your personal testimony. Personal stories change minds.

Evidence

You can back up your personal experience with facts and figures. You do not need to be an expert! You do not need to include all of these points, just pick one or two that you find most persuasive.

The Assisted Dying Bill

The Assisted Dying Bill seeks to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults in their last six months of life. You can read the full text of the Bill online (PDF, 560KB).

Under the Assisted Dying Bill, someone is eligible for an assisted death if they are:

• Terminally ill. The person needs to be assessed by two independent doctors as having a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less.
• Mentally competent. The person needs to be assessed by two independent doctors as having the mental capacity to have an assisted death.
• An adult, aged 18 or over.
• Resident in the Isle of Man for at least one year.

Above all, subject to strict upfront safeguards as assessed by two doctors, it will give dying adults peace of mind that the choice of assisted dying is available if their suffering becomes too great for them in their final months of life. Assisted dying legislation would result in fewer dying people – and their families – facing unnecessary suffering at the end of their lives. Dying people would instead be given  choice and control.

The current law is broken and doesn’t protect people. It is unregulated, unfair, and unsafe.

• Dying people are travelling overseas for an assisted death. The price of travelling to Switzerland from the UK for an assisted death has skyrocketed by 50% to £15,000, with even more associated costs for someone travelling from the Isle of Man. Most terminally ill people can simply not afford this. For those that can, travelling abroad to die means travelling while they are still well enough to do so, cutting their loves short, putting their loved ones at risk of prosecution for simply accompanying them, and dying away from home.
• Dying people are ending their own lives behind closed doors. These deaths are often violent and lonely.
• Even with universal access to hospice level palliative care, some dying people would still suffer as they die. In the UK, this equates to 17 people a day suffering as they die.

For more information on the harms done by the blanket ban on assisted dying, please see Dignity in Dying’s report: Time for Choice

Medical and public opinion supports choice

• Polling consistently shows a clear majority of the Manx public support a change in the law.
• Seismic shift in medical opinion: Since 2021, the British Medical Association and Royal College of Surgeons have both dropped their position to assisted dying. They join other representative bodies that have changed their position, including the Royal College of Physicians and Royal College of Nursing, meaning today almost all major UK medical bodies are neutral or hold no position on assisted dying and willing to engage with the debate.

Assisted dying laws work well across the world

• Over 250 million people worldwide have access to assisted dying, in jurisdictions like the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. It’s time the Isle of Man joined them.
• Assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults is now available in 11 US jurisdictions, all Australian States, and New Zealand. Our recent research report into assisted dying in Australia can be found here: www.dignityindyingscotland.org.uk/australia
• In Oregon, where assisted dying has been legal since 1997, there has been no broadening of the criteria, and the law has wide-ranging support from the public, disabled people, and medical professionals. In over 25 years in Oregon there have been no cases of abuse.
• Worldwide, the number of people who use assisted dying is small but it brings great comfort to many. Assisted deaths in Oregon and California account for under 1% of total deaths. In Victoria, assisted deaths account for 0.65% of total deaths.  Approximately 700-900 people die per year on the Isle of Man.  If assisted dying were legal, we would therefore expect 0.3%-1% of deaths to be assisted deaths, equating to under 9 assisted deaths per year.
• In Oregon, around a third of dying people who receive a prescription never take the life ending medication. Just having the option there was enough to give them peace of mind.

Under the Assisted Dying Bill, the process of assisted dying would happen as follows:

• The person requesting an assisted death is assessed by two independent doctors as being terminally ill and mentally competent. If there is any question over the person’s capacity, they are referred for assessment by a psychiatrist. The two doctors must also confirm that the person is making an informed and independent request without coercion.
• The terminally ill person signs a declaration stating they wish to have an assisted death. The declaration is countersigned by the two independent doctors, and a witness who is not a relative of the person requesting the assisted death. If the terminally ill person cannot physically sign the declaration themselves, someone else can sign on their behalf.
• Once the declaration has been signed, there is a 14 day waiting period for the person to reflect on their decision. If the person is expected to die within a month of signing the declaration, this period is reduced to seven days.
• Once the waiting period has passed, the dying person can request the life ending medication to be delivered to them. The medication can be delivered by a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.
  The medication is only delivered when the dying person intends to use it. If the person changes their mind, the healthcare professional returns the medication immediately to the pharmacy.
• The dying person decides whether they would like to self administer the medication, or if they would like the healthcare professional to administer the medication. The health professional can also assist the person to self administer the medication by preparing the medication and setting up  self administration by, for example, ingestion, IV, or PEG.
• Once medication has been administered, the health professional must stay nearby the person until they have died.
• The dying person can revoke their request at any time.
• Individual healthcare professionals may conscientiously object to being involved in assisted dying.
• Worldwide, the number of people who use assisted dying is small but it brings great comfort to many. Assisted deaths in Oregon and California account for under 1% of total deaths. In Victoria, assisted deaths account for 0.65% of total deaths.  Approximately 700-900 people die per year on the Isle of Man.  If assisted dying were legal, we would therefore expect 0.3%-1% of deaths to be assisted deaths, equating to under 9 assisted deaths per year.