加拿大司法部长周三表示，加拿大不会允许仅患有精神疾病的人接受医疗协助自杀，此举旨在结束该国最具争议的医疗议题之一所引发的辩论。2016年，加拿大已允许处于生命末期的人接受协助死亡。
Canada will not allow medically assisted suicide for people whose only condition is mental illness, the justice minister said on Wednesday, seeking to close debate on one of the country’s most controversial healthcare issues. Canada legalised assisted dying for those at the end of life in 2016.
2021年，这项权利进一步扩展至患有严重且无法治愈疾病的人，即使死亡并非“合理可预见”的。
The right was extended to those suffering from serious and incurable illnesses in 2021, even if death was not “reasonably foreseeable”.
最初，加拿大计划到2024年无论病情如何都允许协助死亡，但该日期被推迟了三年。政府表示，此举是为了确保原本就已不堪重负的精神卫生系统做好准备。
Initially, Canada was to allow assisted death regardless of condition by 2024, but that date was pushed back three years, with the government saying it wanted to make sure that the already overwhelmed mental health system was ready.
如果政府不采取行动，仅患有精神疾病的人本应在今年3月获得协助自杀的权利，因为此前的排除条款当时即将到期。
Without government action, people exclusively suffering from a mental illness would have had access to assisted suicide in March, when the exclusion was set to expire.
但司法部长肖恩·弗雷泽周三对记者表示，加拿大自由党政府计划通过一项立法，禁止仅以精神疾病为唯一基础医疗状况的人接受协助自杀。弗雷泽说：“加拿大已决定不再推进（协助自杀的）范围扩大。”
But Justice Minister Sean Fraser told reporters on Wednesday that Canada’s Liberal government plans to pass legislation that will prohibit assisted suicide for people whose only underlying medical condition is mental illness. “Canada has made a decision not to move forward with the expansion [of assisted suicide],” Fraser said.
“尽管在这一问题上尚未达成完全一致，但我们认为这是正确的做法。”弗雷泽的声明是在一个顾问小组的建议之后发布的。该小组今年6月曾敦促政府不要扩大协助自杀的权利。
“While there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach.”Fraser’s announcement follows recommendations from an advisory panel which in June urged the government not to expand assisted suicide rights.
该小组对全国各社区精神健康支持服务的缺乏表示担忧，并指出，受苦的患者可能因无法获得治疗而选择死亡。
That panel raised concern about the lack of mental health support in communities across the country, and the risk that suffering patients would choose death because they could not access care.
该委员会还指出，精神健康专家之间存在争议，即精神疾病是否有可能被认定为无法治愈。
The committee also highlighted debate among mental health experts as to whether mental illness could ever be deemed incurable.
大多数加拿大人支持协助自杀的权利，但近几个月来，一些医疗专业人员呼吁重新审视这项政策，包括患者如何获得结束生命的批准。
A majority of Canadians support the right to assisted suicide, but in recent months some medical professionals have called for a review of the policy, including how patients receive approval to end their lives.
如果你有自杀念头，或者认识有这种想法的人，请记住，帮助随时可以伸出援手。在香港，你可以拨打18111，联系政府运营的心理健康支持热线。你也可以拨打+852 2896 0000联系“Samaritans”组织，或拨打+852 2382 0000联系自杀预防服务。在美国，可以拨打或发送短信至988，或访问988lifeline.org与988自杀与危机生命线服务进行聊天。如需了解其他国家/地区的求助热线列表，请访问此页面。来源：法新社
If you have suicidal thoughts or know someone who is experiencing them, help is available. In Hong Kong, you can dial 18111 for the government-run Mental Health Support Hotline. You can also call +852 2896 0000 for The Samaritans or +852 2382 0000 for Suicide Prevention Services. In the US, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For a list of other nations’ helplines, see this page. By Agence France-Presse