Medical Assistance in Dying and Mental Health: A Legal, Ethical, and Clinical Analysis

Abstract

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) legislation is now over a year old in Canada, and consideration is turning to whether MAiD should be extended to include serious mental illness as the sole qualifying condition for being eligible for MAiD. This article considers this question from ethical and clinical perspectives. It argues that extending the eligibility for MAiD to include those with a serious mental illness as the sole eligibility criterion is not ethical, necessary, or supported current psychiatric practice or opinion.