hould doctors kill mentally ill patients who wish to die?

The rise of medically assisted death (MAID) has ignited intense debate, particularly concerning its extension to include mental health problems. While palliative sedation and end-of-life care have long been accepted norms, hastening death for individuals with mental health concerns raises serious ethical quandaries and practical implications.

Context is essential. There are historical precedents where medical interventions, such as the champagne prescribed to Russian playwright Anton Chekhov as he lay dying in 1904, were aimed at easing discomfort without raising ethical eyebrows. But the advent of MAID introduces a new dimension, where the line between alleviating suffering and hastening death becomes dangerously blurred.