It's a difficult question because we're trying to address the issue of suffering and how we can respond to patient suffering, and we're using a tool that is particularly crude, which is euthanasia or assisted suicide.
Suicidal ideation is not uncommon in the general population. There was a Canadian study that showed about 13% of people over the course of their lifetime will experience suicidal ideation. About 4% of them will go on to have plans, and about 3% of them will in fact make an attempt. However, the rate of completion is only about 14 out of 100,000, so suicide continues to be relatively rare when you think about it in the context of the number of people who have suicidal ideation.
As I was pointing out and as Dr. Ferrier pointed out, there are conditions like spinal cord injuries, stroke and head trauma, and we know if we follow these patients over time, as much as 24 months after the fact, they can continue to be suicidal. I think we're going to have to look at individual illnesses and the trajectory of suicidal ideation in order to know how to shape legislation, if it's even possible.
Again, I would suggest that the reasonably foreseeable death at least provides a differentiation between MAID, which is medical assistance in dying, and suicide, which is for people who no longer want to face the prospect of further life.