I saw this headline from Medscape, dated August 3, 2023, “Euthanasia for Mental Illness–Right or Wrong?” I am shocked. Why is this even a question? How can we think about killing people who suffer from mental illness? My job is to help people through their struggles and work towards healing.

That said, our Canadian neighbors are putting euthanasia for the mentally ill to a legislative vote in March 2024. Canada is already known to have the largest number of physician-assisted suicides in the world. Euthanizing people for mental illness would add to those numbers.

As we do everything we can to prevent suicide and stop people from dying from overdoses, it seems perplexing to offer death as a solution for those who suffer. We offer hope for a better day! Our job is to value life, see every person with a purpose and help them find their way to fulfill that purpose. We don’t give in and give up on people because they suffer. This is absurd and deeply disturbing.

I teach a suicide prevention program to medical students. One of the stories we focus on is a man named Kevin Hines. Kevin, who struggled with mental illness,  jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge in an attempt to die by suicide. Kevin is one of a handful of people who have survived that jump. According to him, the minute he jumped, he didn’t want to die. He changed his mind! This should give us pause and make us rethink the state of mind of someone so desperate to end their life. Kevin now works to give hope to others that a better life is possible.

Do no harm! It’s an ethic we all have lived by for centuries. We don’t play God and decide to end someone’s life because they struggle. Severe mental illness often distorts thinking. So one has to wonder if a person in that much pain can have decisional capacity. Is the person really competent to make such a life and death decision?

The argument goes that someone in emotional pain who wants to die and take the burden off of those around him or her, is objectively evaluating their reality. Seriously, talk to Kevin. I believe he would disagree as the regret for his decision came within seconds of jumping.  And talk to the survivors of suicide. They don’t do better when someone makes the decision to die.

This is a dangerous question that should not be asked. It is godless, not taking into account the value of a human life and purpose. It concerns me greatly that the established medical communities even consider a questions like this. The answer is: It would be wrong! This is harm in its ultimate form–assisting death.