In March 2024, legislation was due to come into effect in Canada allowing people to apply for medically assisted dying, with mental illness as the sole underlying condition. Canada is already one of the most liberal countries in the world when it comes to euthanasia. But this proposed expansion has prompted controversy and debate over whether this new eligibility would go too far. Critics argue that the country is still not ready to assess such sensitive cases, and that more needs to be understood about psychiatric and mental health cases. Advocates argue that those with mental illness to have equal rights and access to medically assisted death, and to deny access only further stigmatises those suffering. The BBC follows the story of John, a man who has suffered chronic PTSD, anxiety and depression throughout his life, and wants the right to apply. The story follows the past year, looking at how he and his family grapple with this decision and the anxiety around whether the law will pass at all.
