A mental health advocate has joined a growing chorus that鈥檚 asking Ottawa to reject a proposal that would allow Canadians with mental health issues to request a doctor-assisted death.
Mark Henick has launched a petition asking the federal government to exclude mental illness like depression and anxiety.
has amassed more than 1,700 signatures since it launched late last week.
It follows the from a parliamentary committee that included a recommendation to make doctor-assisted dying available to adults with 鈥済rievous and irremediable鈥� medical conditions, including mental illness.
Henick says he suffered from severe depression and had been suicidal.
However, he鈥檚 now happy to be alive.
鈥淲hen I was in that place, I wouldn鈥檛 have believed in me now,鈥� Henick told 麻豆影视. 鈥淏ut now, in retrospect, I look back at everything that my life has become and I am so fortunate that I didn鈥檛 kill myself when I was originally that I absolutely needed to.鈥�
Henick said he believes the parliamentary committee 鈥渄eeply misunderstands鈥� how and why suicide occurs among those with mental health illnesses.
鈥淭hey misunderstand that when someone is suicidal, while our capacity and competency to make decisions usually remains, the options we have to choose from become limited and distorted by the very symptoms we're fighting to overcome,鈥� Henick writes in the petition.
Henick said recovery from severe mental illnesses is possible.
鈥淭here is always something that we can do to help,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n a mental health system that is so often failing people, we can't the just cut and run. We need to be able to fix the system first.鈥�
On Tuesday, a group of ethicists, medical professionals, lawyers and advocates released a list of requirements and safeguards that they want , which includes the need to protect 鈥渧ulnerable鈥� people.
According to the Vulnerable Persons Standard, a person鈥檚 vulnerability can be affected by a number of factors, including disability, grief, loneliness, stigma and shame.
Former MP David Batters died of suicide in 2009 after suffering with anxiety and depression.
His widow, , said she鈥檚 against allowing those with mental illness to request doctor-assisted dying.
"They need our support, our resources, and our promise that we will never give up on them, even if they have given up on themselves,鈥� she said.
Belgian psychiatrist Dr. Joris Vandenberghe said in the last five years he鈥檚 noticed an increase in the number of doctor-assisted deaths on the ground of mental illness.
鈥淏ut we see that sometimes it happens very quickly. The necessary time is not taken to really evaluate a patient and to explore all alternative options,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he concern is things happen to quickly, the death wish is taken for granted without exploring alternatives.鈥�
Ottawa is in the process of drafting new assisted-dying legislation and it鈥檚 not yet clear if Canadians suffering with mental illness will be included in the new laws.
In January, the Supreme Court of Canada granted the federal government a four-month extension to come up with assisted-dying laws.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip
