Overall, capacity includes several things. Some of these include: 1. Does one understand the nature of one's diagnosis, disease or illness? 2. Does one understand treatment options, if any, for said illness. 3. Does one understand what may happen if he/she decides not to take or undergo treatment? Etc. These are the basics of having mental capacity. It's just knowledge that one must fully understand before deciding that he or she has capacity. This is different than competence. Competence is somewhat similar but involves a court and judge. These are issues discussed in cases such as if someone had harmed somebody send then sent to jail. The individual may say, or their attorney, that they lacked the competence to understand their actions because of their mental state at the time of their crime. Did they understand between what is right vs wrong? So capacity has to do more with understanding things and that the person can make informed decisions even though they may detrimental to their health.
This whole thing about an independent third party is confusing me. What do they want this 3rd party to say exactly? That you understand the consequences of your actions? Does that mean it should come from a psychiatrist?
Also, I'm still confused as to whether or not you need to be diagnosed with a terminal condition. Why should you especially if you have a condition causing you severe pain and suffering? Looking at one if the posts above, someone states that they called pegasos and that it's "just a recommendation". It seems clear by the post on exit international the answers to these questions are unclear and ambiguous.
I tried to email pegasos with a bunch of questions but they have not mailed me back yet.
Frustrating to say the least.