MAID

This article profiles a woman who wants medically assisted death for mental health reasons. I never seriously considered suicide myself because of the impact on my loved ones, but there were absolutely entire decades when I did not want to be alive, so I sure hear where she's coming from. My depression eventually lifted due to hormonal changes and a more peaceful living situation, but even if I could have known that would happen, for many people it would still not necessarily be worth suffering through the bad years.

My state is expected to pass a Medical Assistance in Dying law this year. It will not include provisions for people with chronic illness as Canada's does, but I won't be surprised if they come later. I think that respecting people's rights to make their own medical decisions is the compassionate and ethical choice, and support these laws. But two things: first, as the article discusses, mental health conditions introduce more complicated ethical choices. Second, particularly for people with chronic illnesses, lack of resources is a huge factor in quality of life. I am in a relatively GOOD position in comparison with others with chronic illnesses, yet pretty much have no life outside of work. But if I didn't have to work, had housekeeping help, and could get a daily massage? I'd be able to do a lot more things that are important to me. For people with less income, worse work or living situations, more physical limitations, and more pain, the social choice not to support them is effectively driving them to suicide. And frustrating as slippery-slope arguments are, they can also be true.