The Social Justice and the Law Research Group are excited to welcome you to the following event:
‘Assisted Dying for People with Mental Disorders’
This event considers the place of mental disorder and mental capacity in the debates surrounding medical assistance in dying (MAID). The debates in the UK have been hesitant to consider the degree to which people with mental disorders/psychosocial disabilities should be included in legislative schemes to allow medically assisted dying. This hesitance seems based largely on the association of MAID with suicide, and with concerns about how people requesting such intervention can be known to have true agency. At the same time, there is a question of discrimination: people affected by mental disorders/psychosocial disabilities may have as compelling a case for MAID as people not so affected, and blanket exclusion of them from a statutory scheme seems unfair (or perhaps even cruel).
This event will explore these complexities.
We are very happy to welcome confirmed speakers Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) and Dr Mona Gupta, who will offer insights on this topic.
Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) is an English barrister, writer and educator. His cases include Conway v Secretary of State for Justice, on the lawfulness of the ban on assisted suicide contained in the Suicide Act 1961. He also writes extensively, editing and contributing to leading textbooks, and is the creator of the website Mental Capacity Law and Policy. He is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London and a Visiting Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. In March 2022, Alex was made an Honorary KC, reflecting his contributions to mental capacity and mental health law outside the court room.
Mona Gupta is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Addictions at the Université de Montréal. She has an active practice in the area of consultation-liaison psychiatry . Her academic focus is in ethics and philosophy of psychiatry. She has been actively involved in the debate about MAID for persons with mental disorders. Most recently she chaired the federal government's Expert Panel on MAID and mental illness.
This event is free to attend, with refreshments/buffet provided.
If you would like to attend in person, please register.
For those unable to attend in person, this event is hybrid via MS Teams – please join.
If you have any questions or experience problems with the link, please contact grace.carter1@nottingham.ac.uk
What is the Social Justice and the Law Research Group?
We are a research group based at the School of Law who are interested in research related to social justice. We meet once a month via Teams for an informal ‘coffee and catch-up’ to update, support and inspire one another in our research! We were formalised in September, allowing us to run events on the topic of social justice research, such as this one! And we hope to run more events like this in the future. If you are interested in, or currently working on research related to social justice and you are interested in attending our monthly catch-ups, please email me (grace.carter1@nottingham) and you will be sent an invitation and added to the mailing list!