We see it as a three-stage process.
The physicians who are assessing and doing the diagnosis of the person who is requesting would be required to identify whether there are factors that are motivating the request other than the condition itself. The equation is that the condition causes enduring suffering that's intolerable to the individual. We need to know whether other factors are motivating the wish to die. We know, especially from vulnerable people, that situations of economic insecurity, lack of support, domestic abuse associated with the time of onset of the disability, etc., are all factors that can motivate suicidal ideation.
We're in a period where health care providers are being called upon to implement standardized protocols for suicide risk assessment. They're going to have a patient come forward to them with a wish to die. Do they invoke the suicide risk assessment protocol or do they proceed with the request? Our view is that there needs to be clear guidelines for physicians at that point. When there's a concern that it may be a factor other than the medical condition motivating the request, there would be a requirement to go to what we call a stage 2 assessment. We expect that with most people, the physicians will review the request, it will be clear that it's related to the condition, and the request will proceed. Where there's a concern that there are other factors at play, as in some of the examples that I laid out today, there would be a requirement to engage additional health professionals to inquire into what those conditions are. Is it that a family is completely burned out and stressed out?