A recent survey conducted by the Isle of Man Medical Society has found that 74% of doctors are against any change to the existing assisted suicide legislation.
Despite various questionable polls suggesting that support for assisted dying, more accurately termed euthanasia or assisted suicide, is high, a recent survey on the Assisted Dying Bill in the Isle of Man has found this not to be the case.
Amongst medical professionals on the island, the consensus seems to be the other way around. Out of the 61% of the Isle of Man Medical Society that responded to the poll, 74% of them came out as opposed to the bill.
The bill would introduce assisted dying for those with a terminal illness who had less than six months to live.
There is considerable opposition to this kind of bill in the anti-assisted dying lobby, with profound concerns that legislating for such cases swiftly leads to increasingly, and shockingly, permissive access to death. This has been the case in Canada and other places where assisted suicide has been legalised, with shocking stories emerging of people applying for MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying- Canada’s term for assisted dying) solely on the basis of poverty.
Other concerns exist over the coercion of individuals for financial reasons, or around the difficulty in determining when an illness is terminal.
This might explain why a further 34% of respondents said they would consider leaving the island if such a law were implemented.
The bill is due to have its second reading on the 31st October.