How do you feel about physician-assisted suicide ?

It is legal where I live, with very specific guidelines; it has to be part of the person’s advance directive, but the person must be terminally ill and facing death within a relatively short amount of time.

Some people want to extend its reach to emotional or mental illnesses, like clinical depression. Occasionally I’ve seen people here express support for including such conditions.

I always want to ask them, "would you be okay if it were your child or a young person you care about who wanted a doctor to help them suicide due to depression ?"

Because I know that would break my heart and I would be trying to save my niece or my godchildren in that instance. 😭

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DeWayfarer · 61-69, M

Circumstances dictate the reasons. I wouldn't likely prohibite it, yet nor would I encourage it.

Depression is a hard one because the level of depression is so dependent on the reasons for the depression to begin with.

I do know that psychologist have ratings for depression. And I wouldn't recommend that for anything less than severely serious depression levels.

You get to that level, you would already be trying. So it's a matter of what is more painful or cruel.

I do understand there's some concerns on what is more selfish. Perhaps that could be taken with multiple diagnosis. Perhaps nothing less than three different independent diagnosis.