In June 2016, Canada joined the handful of nations that have legalized physician-assisted dying (PAD). Yet, with legislation restricting PAD to the terminally ill, many have been left contending for the right to PAD in cases of debilitating chronic illness, including, but not limited to, severe mental illness. This commentary serves to evaluate and continue the discussion of Canadian PAD for the mentally ill as introduced by Karesa and McBride (2016), present and compare the results of our own research, and promote ongoing discourse on this subject. Karesa and McBride (2016) surveyed psychologists regarding a prospective role for their profession in the PAD process, as well as their attitudes toward PAD. We evaluate their methodology and findings, suggesting manners in which future investigations of psychologists' attitudes toward PAD can be improved. Implementing some of these suggestions, our own study assessed n = 201 Canadian undergraduates' attitudes toward PAD for 2 mental illnesses (schizophrenia, depression) as compared with PAD for physical illness (multiple sclerosis [MS]). In a repeated measures design, participants read vignettes depicting individuals who suffer grievously from 1 of MS, schizophrenia, or depression. In accordance with the primary hypotheses, schizophrenia and depression received lower levels of support for PAD, and were perceived as involving less suffering, rationality, and futility of treatment compared to MS. Our study provides further insight into the ways in which people differentiate physical and mental illnesses, and our discussion adds a Canadian perspective to a pressing subject that, to date, has not been thoroughly investigated.
