{"id":133945,"date":"2026-03-17T06:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=133945"},"modified":"2026-03-16T17:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:28:04","slug":"cchr-raises-alarm-over-psychiatric-euthanasia-as-assisted-suicide-laws-expand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/cchr-raises-alarm-over-psychiatric-euthanasia-as-assisted-suicide-laws-expand\/","title":{"rendered":"CCHR Raises Alarm Over Psychiatric Euthanasia as Assisted-Suicide Laws Expand"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 17, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — As assisted-suicide laws expand worldwide to include individuals diagnosed with mental disorders, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR)<\/a> warns that psychiatry\u2019s diagnostic system\u2014lacking objective medical tests\u2014should never justify ending a human life. The watchdog group says the trend reflects a dangerous shift toward psychiatric-sanctioned death.<\/p>\n

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Image caption: As assisted-suicide laws expand to include mental disorders, critics say psychiatry\u2019s diagnostic system\u2014lacking objective medical tests\u2014risks turning treatment failure into state-sanctioned death.<\/em><\/p>\n

CCHR President Jan Eastgate said the development exposes a fundamental contradiction in modern psychiatry: \u201cPsychiatrists can involuntarily commit and forcibly treat someone who attempts suicide,\u201d she notes, \u201cyet in some countries they can legally assist the same person to die\u2014and be paid for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the center of the controversy are psychiatry\u2019s diagnostic manuals: the American Psychiatric Association\u2019s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders<\/em> (DSM) and its global counterpart, the International Classification of Diseases<\/em> (ICD) mental disorders section used in most countries.[1]<\/p>\n

The debate has taken on new urgency as assisted-suicide programs expand internationally to include individuals diagnosed with psychiatric disorders.<\/p>\n

A recent article in Psychiatric Times<\/em> criticized the growing use of euthanasia in the Netherlands for patients with psychiatric conditions, including younger individuals.[2] The Netherlands\u2019 Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide Act<\/em> from 2002 codified an already existing medical practice that had largely involved individuals with severe physical illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Euthanasia was already in practice, but in 1994 the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that assisted suicide could be permitted in cases involving refractory mental illness.[3] Euthanasia had been defined since 1985 as the administration of drugs with the explicit intention to end life at the explicit request of a patient.<\/p>\n

National Review<\/em> reported that individuals suffering from psychiatric problems could effectively be \u201cput down like unwanted pets,\u201d even when they have \u201cno diagnosed medical condition whatsoever.\u201d[4]<\/p>\n

In 2010, two psychiatric patients in the Netherlands were legally killed. This number increased to 13 patients in 2011 and 14 in 2012. By 2020, the Netherlands reported 88 euthanasia cases involving psychiatric disorders\u2014an average of roughly one per week. The number of psychiatric euthanasia patients increased from 138 in 2023 to 219 in 2024, representing an increase of nearly 60% in a single year.<\/p>\n

The Psychiatric Times<\/em> article noted that psychiatry lacks reliable tools to determine concepts such as \u201cirremediable suffering,\u201d decisional capacity, or unbearable psychological pain\u2014particularly in young people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen euthanasia deaths are considered alongside suicides,\u201d Psychiatric Times also noted, \u201cassisted dying now accounts for a growing proportion of premature deaths among young adults, particularly young women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding to the controversy is the debate over whether a desire to die may itself be a symptom of mental disorder. A 2024 article in Annals of Palliative Medicine<\/em> reported arguments that a wish to die could be interpreted as a manifestation of mental disease rather than a rational decision. German researchers concluded that \u201cthe only ethically valid argument to exclude persons with mental disorders from suicide assistance is their potential inability to make a free, autonomous decision.\u201d[5]<\/p>\n

The debate echoes darker historical precedents. During the Nazi era, German psychiatrists implemented state-run euthanasia programs targeting and killing people deemed mentally ill or disabled.<\/p>\n

CCHR says the underlying problem is psychiatry\u2019s diagnostic framework itself. Unlike diseases such as cancer or diabetes, psychiatric diagnoses are not confirmed through laboratory tests, brain scans, or other objective medical evidence. Instead, they are based on clusters of behavioral symptoms voted by peers to include in the DSM.<\/p>\n

Professor Allen Frances, who chaired the DSM-IV task force, said the latest update of the DSM was not supported by new scientific discoveries. Further, \u201cThere are no objective tests in psychiatry\u2014no X-ray, laboratory or exam that says definitively that someone does or does not have a mental disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet these diagnostic labels increasingly influence major legal decisions, including eligibility for assisted suicide. As of 2020, euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide was legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Colombia, Canada, Spain, Victoria in Australia, and several U.S. states. In six of those non-U.S. jurisdictions, mental disorders may qualify as grounds for euthanasia. Belgium has abolished any minimum age requirement for euthanasia, while Colombia permits assisted suicide for children over six under strict criteria. U.S. laws have not been expanded to include mental disorders, but critics warn that such changes could follow international precedent.<\/p>\n

Eastgate says that labeling emotional distress as chronic mental illness can leave individuals feeling hopeless after years of failed psychiatric treatment, making euthanasia appear to be a medical solution to suffering psychiatry itself has been unable to resolve or has worsened.<\/p>\n

Psychiatrist Dr. Niall McLaren recently argued that the profession continues to expand diagnostic categories without understanding what mental disorders actually are.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re like people on a mythical island who can describe and name clouds but don\u2019t know what clouds actually are,\u201d he said.[6]<\/p>\n

For CCHR<\/a>, a mental health watchdog established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry, Thomas Szasz, the implications are stark. Psychiatry cannot scientifically establish mental disorders as physical diseases, cannot identify a biological cause, and cannot cure them. \u201cYet it now participates in authorizing death on the basis of those same unproven diagnoses,\u201d said Eastgate. \u201cTo shroud murder in the mantle of medical practice\u2014\u2018assisted suicide\u2019 for \u2018mental illness\u2019\u2014is fraud dressed up as healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more, visit:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.cchrint.org\/2026\/03\/16\/psychiatric-diagnoses-used-to-justify-euthanasia\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Sources:<\/em><\/p>\n

[1] \u201cDSM-5: The Delayed Demise of Descriptive Diagnosis,” History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences<\/em>, (2015), p. 65, https:\/\/psptraining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Demazeux-S.2015.-The-DSM-5-in-perspective.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[2] \u201cPsychiatric Euthanasia in the Netherlands: Young People, Procedural Medicine, and the Limits of Psychiatry,\u201d Psychiatric Times<\/em>, 5 Mar. 2026, https:\/\/www.psychiatrictimes.com\/view\/psychiatric-euthanasia-in-the-netherlands-young-people-procedural-medicine-and-the-limits-of-psychiatry<\/a><\/p>\n

[3] \u201cPhysician-assisted suicide in psychiatry and loss of hope,” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry<\/em>, Sept. \u2013 Dec. 2013, https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0160252713000745<\/a><\/p>\n

[4] \u201cThe Week.\u201d National Review<\/em>, vol. 68, no. 5, March 28, 2016, p. 14, https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/20160328-1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

[5] \u201cAssisted suicide in persons with mental disorders: a review of clinical-ethical arguments and recommendations,\u201d Annals of Palliative Medicine<\/em>, 31 May 2024, https:\/\/apm.amegroups.org\/article\/view\/122896\/html<\/a><\/p>\n

[6] \u201cAnnouncing \u2026 DSM-6: More of the same,\u201d Critical Psychiatry<\/em>, 10 Mar. 2026, https:\/\/www.niallmclaren.com\/p\/announcing-dsm-6?publication_id=1209273&post_id=190475956&isFreemail=true&r=1gr4xq&triedRedirect=true<\/a><\/p>\n

MULTIMEDIA:<\/strong><\/p>\n

CCHR image link for media: https:\/\/www.Send2Press.com\/300dpi\/26-0317-s2p-cchr-300dpi.webp<\/a><\/p>\n

Image caption: As assisted-suicide laws expand to include mental disorders, critics say psychiatry\u2019s diagnostic system\u2014lacking objective medical tests\u2014risks turning treatment failure into state-sanctioned death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 17, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — As assisted-suicide laws expand worldwide to include individuals diagnosed with mental disorders, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) warns that psychiatry’s diagnostic system-lacking objective medical tests-should never justify ending a human life. The watchdog group says the trend reflects a dangerous shift toward psychiatric-sanctioned death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9788,"featured_media":133937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[608,12804,10,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion-news","category-ap","category-california-news","category-los-angeles-news","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":1150,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133945"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133950,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133945\/revisions\/133950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}