(NewsNation) — Medically assisted death for people with mental illness is set to become legal in Canada in March as part of a law that appears to have divided the country.

The legislation would make Canada one of the few countries to allow the procedure for people whose only medical condition is mental illness The New York Times reported this on Wednesday. Jason French, a man who has twice attempted to take his own life, told the newspaper he supported the law and said he “cannot continue to suffer.”

But critics claim the legislation specifically highlights inadequacies in Canada’s health care system psychiatric care.

The country legalized medically assisted dying for terminally ill people in 2016, and the law was later expanded to cover other serious illnesses in 2021. The 2021 law excluded people whose only medical condition was mental illness for a period of two years, until March 17, 2023. according to the Ministry of Health.

However, Parliament has delayed implementation and could do so again, The Times reports, leading to uncertainty over whether the expansion will come into force in March as planned.

According to the Ministry of Health, 13,241 Canadians chose euthanasia in 2022, a 31.2% increase from the previous year compared to 32.6% from 2021 to 2020. The average growth rate from 2019 to 2022 was 31.1%.

Some health care providers and opponents of the expansion fear hopeless patients will now choose death over treatment that could take years.

Dr. John Maher, a psychiatrist in Barrie, Ont., told The Times: “I’m trying to keep my patients alive. What does it mean for the doctor’s role as healer, as bringer of hope, to offer death? And what does that mean in practice?”

The country has already seen an increase in the number of people who chose euthanasia and whose natural deaths were not reasonably foreseeable: 463 in 2022 compared to 223 in 2021.

Gus Grant, CEO and Chancellor of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia, told the Canadian Press He believes the country is ready for expansion.

“We hope the government will not be swayed by concerns that regulators will not be ready,” he said.

Others, like Sonu Gaind, believe the legislative process moved too quickly. Gaind, head of psychiatry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, is among those who want the government to halt its expansion plans, the Canadian Press reported.

He believes there are still questions that need to be addressed, such as how doctors can assess whether or not someone with a mental illness can recover.

“Does this mean you’ve suffered from an illness for decades and tried things but nothing worked? Is that what it means?” he told the news agency.

As the debate continues, patients like French are eagerly awaiting a decision. He told the Times he wasn’t suicidal but didn’t want to die “scared and alone.”

“I want to do it with a doctor. I want to die peacefully within a few minutes,” he said.

If you or a loved one are suffering from mental health issues, please call 988 or text Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.