Dr. Anne Doherty:

I thank the Senator for that question. I would be very concerned about the fact that if we are legislating on the basis of autonomy for one group of people who are entitled to a particular service and then we are saying that the suffering for somebody with a mental illness is just as great - and it is; people with mental illness have some of the most horrific sufferings - it is very difficult to avoid saying what the courts said in Canada, which was that people with mental illness were being discriminated against by not being allowed access to that service. There is a very strong risk that could happen in the future as well.