Can the Depressed Appreciate the Choice to Die?

Abstract

In this article, I argue that some irremediably depressed patients have the decision-making capacity to consent to medical treatment even when they want to die. These patients are said to have deficits in appreciative capacity because they lack insight into their condition. I argue that some patients have insight if they can cognize and articulate a range of future possibilities regarding their health. The argument requires a phenomenological lens. Phenomenology captures something fundamental about depression, such as temporal experience, which is needed for a more thorough assessment of capacity for medical assistance in dying (MAiD).