Should The Mentally Ill Deserve Assisted Suicide?

Although physician assisted suicide is legal, with restrictions, in but one U.S. state, Oregon, it is practiced in other countries. One such country is Switzerland, which allowed assisted suicide since 1918 and not requiring physician involvement and not requiring the patient to be a resident. A recent decision by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court now permits assisted suicide, under guidelines, to be available to psychiatric patients and others with mental illnesses. The issue of whether the mentally ill should have suicide rights is discussed as an Essay in the May-June 2007 issue of the "Hastings Center Report" titled "A Suicide Right for the Mentally Ill?" by Jacob M. Appel. (The link will lead you to the full text article after a free sign-in.) Read the article and then return and write about the issue. ..Maurice.