Chronic, Irremediable Depression Constituting Mental Disability: Expanding Legal Rights to Euthanasia in Canada
Supreme Court Law Review, (2018) 82 SCLR (2d) 237
74 Pages Posted: 6 Aug 2016 Last revised: 21 Dec 2017
Date Written: December 20, 2017
Abstract
Interdisciplinary and comparative research aims to establish: (a) if the challenge in differentiating between short-term and chronic psychological pain is legally problematic for the Canadian justice system; (b) if chronic, irremediable depression constitutes severe, intolerable, enduring suffering satisfying the disability requirement permitting euthanasia; (c) if chronic depression meets the grounds for mental disability classification; (d) if the application of “terminality” in Carter v Canada differs from the practical, legal interpretation by Canadian courts (e.g., a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision); and (e) the medical, ethical, moral, and legal implications for physicians, patients, clinicians, and the legal community.
Keywords: Mental Health, Chronic Depression, DSM-5, Euthanasia, End-of-Life, Physician-Assisted Death, Medical Aid in Dying, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Criminal Code, Healthcare, Health Policy, Dying with Dignity, Human Rights, Human Rights Law, Disability Rights, Psychiatry, Palliative Care, Carter
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