Abstract
Interdisciplinary and comparative research aims to establish: (a) if the challenge in differentiating between short-term and chronic psychological pain is legally problematic for the Canadian justice system; (b) if chronic, irremediable depression constitutes severe, intolerable, enduring suffering satisfying the disability requirement permitting euthanasia; (c) if chronic depression meets the grounds for mental disability classification; (d) if the application of “terminality” in Carter v Canada differs from the practical, legal interpretation by Canadian courts (e.g., a recent Alberta Court of Appeal decision); and (e) the medical, ethical, moral, and legal implications for physicians, patients, clinicians, and the legal community.
This article is published in the Supreme Court Law Review, (2018) 82 SCLR (2d) 237. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2818898 in English only.