MAID and mental illness raise questions that cannot be settled by the word “choice” alone. Bioethicist Kerry Bowman helps distinguish concerns about decision-making capacity from the experience of prolonged suffering. How should protection and autonomy be weighed when someone has lived with illness for decades?

Access to care complicates that question. Kerry challenges the exclusion discussed here, while acknowledging serious gaps in mental health support. What does a meaningful choice look like when treatment and assistance are difficult to obtain, and whose experiences belong in the debate?

Another tension begins inside the medical appointment. Mentioning MAID could sound like recommending it, yet saying nothing could leave a patient unaware of an option. Where is the line between informing someone and influencing them at an exceptionally vulnerable moment?

Topics: MAID and mental illness, patient autonomy, treatment access, family experiences, clinical communication

GUEST: Kerry Bowman

Originally aired on 2026-10-07