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Mental capacity in the shadow of suicide: What can the law do?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2013

Genevra Richardson
Genevra Richardson*
Affiliation:
The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London
*
genevra.richardson@kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract

In a society where suicide is lawful how should we respond to a life-threatening treatment refusal by someone whose decision-making might be affected by a mental disorder? In considering this question this article examines the three established concepts currently employed by the law to analyse such cases: mental capacity, best interests and mental disorder. It then considers whether a supported decision-making model based on a notion of universal capacity, such as that espoused by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, might alleviate some of the dilemmas arising from the application of the traditional legal concepts.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 9 , Special Issue 1: Mental capacity and value neutrality , March 2013 , pp. 87 - 105
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

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