Canada says it will indefinitely suspend plans to expand its medically assisted dying law to people whose sole condition is mental illness, citing a lack of consensus on who would be eligible.
After a parliamentary panel earlier this year recommended against expanding the program, Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced that the proposed changes would be put on hold.
Supporters argue that excluding people with mental illnesses violates their constitutional rights and limits access to healthcare, while critics caution that ensuring informed consent would be difficult.
Under the current law, assisted dying is available to those with terminal illnesses, and was broadened in 2021 to include people with incurable but non‑imminent conditions. The plan to add mental‑illness‑only cases has been postponed indefinitely and could be re‑evaluated in the future.
The government will introduce new legislation to allow patients with progressive incurable illnesses to pre‑request assisted dying before becoming physically unable to do so.
Legal challenges remain: a federal court case continues to question the earlier decision to delay access for people with mental illnesses.
Affected individuals can contact the BBC Action Line or, in Canada, dial 988 for the Suicide Crisis Helpline.
