Call for Chapters: Medically Assisted Dying for Persons with Mental IIlness: Philosophical\, Ethical\, and Legal Perspectives
\n\;(Edited Volume)
\nPlanned publisher: Springer (contract in preparation)
Planned series: The International Library of Bioethics
Editors: David Černý\;\, Tomá\;&scaron\; Doležal\, Adam Doležal (Czech Academy of Sciences)\, Manuel Trachsel (University of Basel)
Rationale and Scope
\nOver the past decades\, debates on euthanasia and physician-assisted dying (PAD) have matured in many respects. Yet one domain remains both conceptually unsettled and practically urgent: psychiatric euthanasia and PAD for persons with mental disorders. A small but growing number of jurisdictions&mdash\;most prominently the Netherlands\, Belgium\, and (more recently) Canada&mdash\;have opened legal pathways for cases where psychiatric suffering is the primary indication\, provoking intense controversy across psychiatry\, bioethics\, law\, and public policy.
\nThis edited volume aims to provide a comprehensive\, systematic\, book-length treatment of psychiatric euthanasia\, integrating philosophical analysis\, normative bioethics\, comparative law\, and clinical/empirical perspectives. We welcome contributions that are philosophically rigorous and normatively ambitious while carefully engaging with clinical and legal realities.
\nWhat we are looking for
\nWe invite proposals for original chapters offering:
\nrigorous argumentation and conceptual clarity\,
\ncareful engagement with clinical and legal realities\,
\nempirical grounding where relevant\,
\nan interdisciplinary orientation (chapters may be philosophical\, bioethical\, legal\, psychiatric\, or genuinely interdisciplinary)\,
\naccessibility to an international scholarly readership.
\nThe volume is envisaged as a four-part collection&mdash\;moving from conceptual groundwork through normative debates and legal frameworks to clinical practice and lived experience.
\nSuggested Topics (non-exhaustive)
\nPart I &mdash\; Conceptual and historical foundations
\nConcepts\, definitions\, and key distinctions (psychiatric vs somatic vs &ldquo\;mixed&rdquo\; cases)
\nHistory of euthanasia debates in relation to mental illness
\nThe nature of mental suffering\; the badness (or possible acceptability) of death
\nAutonomy\, competence\, and decision-making capacity in psychiatric contexts (incl. fluctuating capacity and ambivalence)
\nPart II &mdash\; Normative arguments and ethical frameworks
\n&ldquo\;Parity&rdquo\; arguments (and their limits): somatic vs psychiatric indications
\nBeneficence\, non-maleficence\, autonomy\, justice in psychiatric euthanasia
\nVulnerability\, coercion\, and structural injustice (stigma\, poverty\, loneliness\, access to care)
\nSlippery-slope arguments\, expressivist concerns\, and symbolic meanings
\nPart III &mdash\; Legal frameworks and comparative law
\nThe Netherlands: statutory framework\, guidelines\, review practice
\nBelgium: regulation\, case law\, oversight bodies and landmark cases
\nCanada: MAiD and the contested expansion to mental disorders
\nComparative and human-rights perspectives\; emerging jurisdictions and models of professional self-regulation
\nPart IV &mdash\; Clinical practice\, empirical evidence\, lived experience
\nTreatment resistance\, prognosis\, and &ldquo\;irremediability&rdquo\;: epistemic limits in psychiatry
\nAssessing voluntariness and stability of the wish to die\; distinguishing suicidality-as-symptom from a sustained request
\nEmpirical studies: patient profiles\, clinician and review-body reasoning\, procedural experiences
\nSuicide prevention\, palliative psychiatry\, recovery-oriented care\, and &ldquo\;reasonable alternatives&rdquo\;
\nFuture directions: research priorities\, policy implications\, professional guidance
\nVolume profile and review process
\nThe book is planned for Springer&rsquo\;s International Library of Bioethics (contract in preparation). We anticipate approximately 16&ndash\;17 chapters (including an overall introduction and concluding chapter). All chapters will undergo peer review through an editor-coordinated review process.
\nSubmission guidelines
\nPlease submit an abstract including:
\nprovisional title
\nabstract (recommended 400&ndash\;800 words)
\n4&ndash\;6 keywords
\nshort author bio (100&ndash\;150 words)
\nFull chapters should be original\, written in English\, and prepared to align with Springer&rsquo\;s book-manuscript requirements.
\nTimeline
\nExtended abstracts due: 28 February 2026
\nFull chapters due: 30 October 2026
\nFinal manuscript submission to Springer: 30 December 2026
\nHow to submit
\nPlease send your abstract (single PDF or DOCX) with the subject line:
&ldquo\;Psychiatric Euthanasia &ndash\; Chapter Proposal&rdquo\; \;to: David Černý\; (david.cerny@ilaw.cas.cz)