CFP: Psychiatric Euthanasia: Philosophical, Ethical, and Legal Perspectives

Call for Chapters: Psychiatric Euthanasia: Philosophical, Ethical, and Legal Perspectives (Edited Volume)

Planned publisher: Springer (contract in preparation)
Planned series: The International Library of Bioethics
Editors: David Černý, Tomáš Doležal, Adam Doležal (Czech Academy of Sciences)

Rationale and Scope

Over 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—most prominently the Netherlands, Belgium, and (more recently) Canada—have opened legal pathways for cases where psychiatric suffering is the primary indication, provoking intense controversy across psychiatry, bioethics, law, and public policy.

This 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.

What we are looking for

We invite proposals for original chapters offering:

• rigorous argumentation and conceptual clarity,

• careful engagement with clinical and legal realities,

• empirical grounding where relevant,

• an interdisciplinary orientation (chapters may be philosophical, bioethical, legal, psychiatric, or genuinely interdisciplinary),

• accessibility to an international scholarly readership.

The volume is envisaged as a four-part collection—moving from conceptual groundwork through normative debates and legal frameworks to clinical practice and lived experience.

Suggested Topics (non-exhaustive)

Part I — Conceptual and historical foundations

• Concepts, definitions, and key distinctions (psychiatric vs somatic vs “mixed” cases)

• History of euthanasia debates in relation to mental illness

• The nature of mental suffering; the badness (or possible acceptability) of death

• Autonomy, competence, and decision-making capacity in psychiatric contexts (incl. fluctuating capacity and ambivalence)

Part II — Normative arguments and ethical frameworks

• “Parity” arguments (and their limits): somatic vs psychiatric indications

• Beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice in psychiatric euthanasia

• Vulnerability, coercion, and structural injustice (stigma, poverty, loneliness, access to care)

• Slippery-slope arguments, expressivist concerns, and symbolic meanings

Part III — Legal frameworks and comparative law

• The Netherlands: statutory framework, guidelines, review practice

• Belgium: regulation, case law, oversight bodies and landmark cases

• Canada: MAiD and the contested expansion to mental disorders

• Comparative and human-rights perspectives; emerging jurisdictions and models of professional self-regulation

Part IV — Clinical practice, empirical evidence, lived experience

• Treatment resistance, prognosis, and “irremediability”: epistemic limits in psychiatry

• Assessing voluntariness and stability of the wish to die; distinguishing suicidality-as-symptom from a sustained request

• Empirical studies: patient profiles, clinician and review-body reasoning, procedural experiences

• Suicide prevention, palliative psychiatry, recovery-oriented care, and “reasonable alternatives”

• Future directions: research priorities, policy implications, professional guidance

Volume profile and review process

The book is planned for Springer’s International Library of Bioethics (contract in preparation). We anticipate approximately 16–17 chapters (including an overall introduction and concluding chapter). All chapters will undergo peer review through an editor-coordinated review process.

Submission guidelines

Please submit an abstract including:

• provisional title

• abstract (recommended 400–800 words)

• 4–6 keywords

• short author bio (100–150 words)

Full chapters should be original, written in English, and prepared to align with Springer’s book-manuscript requirements.

Timeline

• Extended abstracts due: 28 February 2026

• Full chapters due: 30 October 2026

• Final manuscript submission to Springer: 30 December 2026

How to submit

Please send your abstract (single PDF or DOCX) with the subject line:
“Psychiatric Euthanasia – Chapter Proposal” to: David Černý ([email protected])