Canada has decided that expanding its medically assisted dying law to people whose sole condition is mental illness is a bit like trying to assemble IKEA furniture without the instructions - best left indefinitely suspended. The government announced Wednesday it will pause the expansion, citing a lack of consensus on who would actually be eligible.

The move follows a parliamentary panel recommendation earlier this year that medically assisted dying - known as Maid in Canada - should not be expanded to this group. Justice Minister Sean Fraser said, "while there is not a perfect consensus on this issue, we believe this is the correct approach at this particular time." Which is politician-speak for "we'd rather not touch this with a ten-foot pole right now."

Supporters of extending the programme argue that not doing so violates the constitutional rights of those with mental illness and denies them equal access to healthcare. A federal case remains before the courts challenging the government's earlier decision to delay access to Maid for people with mental illness. Fraser acknowledged the Supreme Court could weigh in eventually, because nothing says "settled law" like a looming constitutional challenge.

Wednesday's announcement means Canadians with mental illness as their sole condition will not be able to access assisted dying by March 2027 as previously planned. Instead, the government will introduce a new law in the coming weeks that suspends that expansion indefinitely. That proposed legislation will also allow patients with a progressing incurable illness to consent to assisted dying before their health deteriorates to the point where they are unable to do so - but it leaves the final decision up to individual provinces. Advanced requests are not currently legal under federal law, though Quebec allows them for those with serious and incurable illnesses.

"These are not easy decisions but we believe they will be the correct ones," Fraser said, possibly while eyeing the exit.

Medically assisted dying became legal in Canada in 2016 for people with terminal illnesses, who still account for the vast majority of cases. Following a court case in Quebec, it was expanded in 2021 to people with incurable conditions but whose death was not imminent - known as "track two" Maid. Canada was first set to expand to mental illness alone in 2023, but delayed twice to study its potential delivery, which is a fancy way of saying "we need more time to figure out if this is a good idea."

Advocates for expansion say people with mental illness should have the same rights as patients with other types of illness. Claire Brosseau, a woman with treatment-resistant bipolar 1 disorder who is part of the federal case, told the BBC earlier this year that euthanasia would offer her "a safe death." But concerns have been raised about whether mental illnesses are understood well enough by medicine to determine appropriate eligibility. "When I hear that there is a lack of consensus in the medical community about the irremediable nature of certain mental illnesses, that gives me real cause for concern," Fraser said.

Some experts have also raised broader concerns that Canada's assisted dying programme has become a tool to alleviate suffering for people who would be better served by improved access to affordable housing and healthcare - not an option of last resort. In a report earlier this year, a parliamentary committee noted competing opinions but recommended Canada "indefinitely exclude persons whose sole underlying medical condition is a mental illness" from assisted dying. It added there is a "pressing need for increased and more equitable access to adequate mental health services."

The conclusions came after committee members heard from doctors, advocates and experts from countries that do allow assisted dying for people solely with mental illness, like the Netherlands and Belgium. Not all committee members agreed, and some released a dissenting report arguing the process was "fundamentally flawed" and "biased." Polls suggest the majority of Canadians support access to medically assisted death, but that support falls when it comes to patients with mental illness alone.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line. In Canada, support can be found at the Suicide Crisis Helpline by dialling 988.