Good afternoon friend,
Last week, our parliamentary meeting brought together policymakers taking forward assisted dying around the UK and beyond for a powerful discussion about law change. Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Jersey are all taking steps towards this historic piece of legislation.
As each jurisdiction progresses this debate, the pressure mounts on Westminster to follow suit. I’ve written a short blog to catch you up on the progress made around the British Isles.
Just this week the Isle of Man launched a public consultation on proposals for a new Assisted Dying Bill being taken by Member of the House of Keys (MHK), Dr Alex Allinson. Back in October, the Government in Jersey also opened the second stage of its consultation to inform the next steps for its proposed legislation.
If the recent views gathered in the Scottish consultation are anything to go by (and past polls have shown islanders in Jersey and the Isle of Man are even more overwhelmingly supportive than elsewhere) we are optimistic that they will prove, both to their own Governments and elsewhere, that British jurisdictions are more than ready for movement on this issue.
Dozens of MPs crowded into a meeting room last week to hear about how these nations are trying to transform dying for the better and give dying people the choice they need. Change in these areas will signal a real step-change in this debate.
Thank you for being on this journey with us.
All the best,
P.S. Got five minutes? Read this short blog today and catch up on the tangible progress being made on assisted dying around the UK, the Crown Dependencies and Ireland.
