Senators oppose exclusion of people with mental illness

Senators have voted to give the federal government 18 months to expand access to assisted dying for people suffering solely from mental illnesses. by a vote of 57-21, with six abstentions, they’ve agreed to add an 18-month sunset clause to a provision in bill C-7 that would have imposed a blanket prohibition on assisted dying for anyone suffering solely from mental illness. Sen. Stan Kutcher, a psychiatrist and member of the Independent Senators Group who proposed the amendment, says the bill’s exclusion is unconstitutional and stigmatizes people with mental illness, implying that their suffering is not real. Justice Minister david Lametti, pictured, has said the exclusion is necessary because there is no consensus among experts on the issue because the trajectory of mental illness is often unpredictable.