A campaign group has urged island residents to respond to public consultation on assisted dying.

My Death, My Decision is a UK-wide group, which was set up in 2019, and has 12 known members in the island.

The group wants an assisted dying law that will allow adults of sound mind, who are either incurably, intolerably suffering or terminally ill, the right to have an assisted death.

The public consultation opened earlier this month for eight weeks, and will inform a proposed law change.

This came after Ramsey MHK Alex Allinson introduced a bill to the House of Keys on July 14 this year.

The bill he put forward is to afford terminally ill adults the right to, at their request with specified assistance, end their own life.

Vicky Christian, spokesperson for My Death, My Decision, said: ‘We welcome Dr Allinson’s initiative to bring Assisted Dying legislation to the Isle of Man.

‘The people of the island deserve the right to a dignified death at a time and place of their choosing.

‘We urge everyone to respond to the consultation.’

She added: ‘We want the bill to extend to those who are incurably or intolerably suffering.’

Mrs Christian explained that there were many checks and balances to prevent the process of assisted dying from being abused.

She said: ‘For example, in Canada, you have to be 18, you have to be of sound mind, you need to convince two separate doctors that you understand all of the alternatives and this is what you want, you also have to have said that the assisted dying route is the path you want to take multiple times.’

An opinion poll last year found that 87% of islanders support a change in law on assisted dying to allow the option for terminally ill, mentally competent adults.

My Death, My Decision is one of a number of groups campaigning on the topic.

Millie Blenkinsop-French, a 79-year-old property investor who lives in Douglas, has been campaigning for assisted dying for the past 45 years.

When she was in her 30s, she joined the campaign group Voluntary Euthanasia, which is now part of the group Dignity and Dying.

Mrs Blenkinsop-French said: ‘We have fought for this for so long because there are so many people suffering at the very end.

‘I lost my son last year. He died an agonising death.

‘He had what they call squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, which grew on his neck.

‘By the time he went to hospital about it, it was terminal, and he had 10 months left to live.

‘I think he would have gone for assisted dying, had it been around when he was ill, because he suffered terribly.’

Mrs Blenkinsop-French herself had breast cancer a few years ago.

She said: ‘If my cancer ever came back, I would like the choice to say enough is enough.’

She added: ‘My nephew lost his partner a few years ago, they went to the Netherlands, because assisted dying has been legal there for some time.

‘She had been really ill, and at some point she said “I’m ready to go now.”

‘After going through the various checks and balances, she was given two injections, one at night and one in the morning.

‘My nephew climbed into bed with her the night she died, she was snoring her head off like she normally does, and in the morning she was gone – no pain.

‘She died peacefully and it was her decision.’

Mrs Blenkinsop-French said that something that has always stuck with her, was when she was in her 30s, her brother said to her: ‘I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of how I might die.’

Paper copies of the consultation are available from the Tynwald reception desk, or you can find it on consult.gov.im.

It closes January 26.