Cultural, moral, and ethical considerations in the inclusion of nonterminal conditions and mental illness in medical assistance in dying (MAiD) laws

Rehabil Psychol. 2025 May;70(2):123-130. doi: 10.1037/rep0000597.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE: Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is permitted in certain U.S. jurisdictions and other countries for suffering associated with terminal physical illness, such as advanced cancer, progressive neurological disease, and major organ failure, in which natural death is foreseeable. In a few European countries and Canada, eligibility for MAiD has recently been extended for nonterminal chronic health conditions and severe psychiatric illnesses that are considered to be irremediable.

RESULTS: For psychologists, this expansion of eligibility for MAiD in other countries raises considerable questions within cultural, moral, and ethical contexts.

DESIGN: This commentary is based on personal reflections within the framework of the foundational principles of rehabilitation psychology given our knowledge of how MAiD potentially differentially impacts the disability community.

CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: Rehabilitation psychologists need to grapple with the complexity of the issues to begin to forecast the research, education, practice standards, and policies that are needed before legislation is proposed in the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:40310204 | DOI:10.1037/rep0000597