Welcome to the 22nd WCP Congress Program Scheduling

Physician Assisted Death (PAD) has been legalized or decriminalized in over a dozen jurisdictions around the world, and many jurisdictions are exploring whether to introduce assisted dying laws or expand existing laws. There is wide variation between policies, including how policies address potential applications for assisted dying for mental illness. PAD for sole criterion mental illness is available in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and recent Canadian legislation will permit psychiatric euthanasia by 2023. This session will explore medicolegal, scientific, ethical and public policy issues related to PAD, focusing on the challenges posed with mental illnesses in the context of PAD. Dr. K. Sonu Gaind, a University of Toronto professor and psychiatrist and a past president of the Canadian Psychiatric Association, will review the Canadian experience and recent policy expansion, including exploring differences between groups who seek PAD for different reasons and potential impacts of expanding PAD laws on marginalized populations suffering from life distress. Dr. Eric Kelleher, honorary senior lecturer, University College Cork & consultation-liaison psychiatrist will discuss the Irish experience and the recommendations of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland in their recent Position Paper on Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia. Dr. Marie Nicolini, psychiatrist and researcher at the KU Leuven Center for Biomedical Ethics and Law, will review the potential tension between psychiatric euthanasia and suicide prevention measures, by comparing and evaluating the ethical standards for informed consent used in the two contexts.