An expert committee reviewing euthanasia deaths in Canada’s most populous province has identified several cases where patients asked to be killed in part for social reasons such as isolation and fears of homelessness.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable that certain social reasons should be allowed to affect a person’s choice regarding euthanasia. Love can’t be brought, it can’t be replaced by things that money can buy, and its presence or absence can be critical for a person experiencing intense suffering.
With that said, housing security is generally a thing that money can buy. There are people so severely mentally ill that housing cannot be bought for them through normal means, but I question whether these people have the capacity to consent to euthanasia. There are also people who express a concern over housing but whose circumstances would motivate them to seek euthanasia even if secure housing were provided for them, but I’m not confident that doctors can identify them accurately.
I hope that findings like these lead to improvement in the way that people seeking euthanasia are treated rather than a backlash against permitting euthanasia.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable that certain social reasons should be allowed to affect a person’s choice regarding euthanasia. Love can’t be brought, it can’t be replaced by things that money can buy, and its presence or absence can be critical for a person experiencing intense suffering.
With that said, housing security is generally a thing that money can buy. There are people so severely mentally ill that housing cannot be bought for them through normal means, but I question whether these people have the capacity to consent to euthanasia. There are also people who express a concern over housing but whose circumstances would motivate them to seek euthanasia even if secure housing were provided for them, but I’m not confident that doctors can identify them accurately.
I hope that findings like these lead to improvement in the way that people seeking euthanasia are treated rather than a backlash against permitting euthanasia.