Autonomy, Depression, and Dignified Death: The Moral Permissibility of Physician-Assisted Death for the Severely Depressed
Year: 2019
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: The majority of depressed individuals respond positively to treatment. Yet, just as treatment options run out in certain cases of somatic illnesses, so do they sometimes run out for the clinically depressed. In recent decades, society has rightly begun to loosen its paternalistic grip on medical decision-making, in part due to the growing recognition of the importance of patient autonomy and its contribution to overall well-being. I argue that this principle of autonomy should be extended to patients with untreatable severe depression, and that these patients should have access to physician-assisted death. First, I argue that untreatable cases of severe depression are relevantly analogous to cases of terminal somatic illness. Second, I consider the many possible objections to this position, some of which target physician-assisted death in general, some of which target physician-assisted death for the severely depressed in particular. The latter set includes the misguided objection that severely depressed patients cannot make compos mentis decisions. Finally, I will show how the intrinsic value of autonomy supports the provision of physician-assisted death services for our severely depressed community, in that the natural right to freedom entails the right to make both right and wrong choices.
Author: McKinney, Elizabeth
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7064383276