More seriously, the ‘abnormality’ of depression is socially constructed and does not in itself create an exception to human rights theory.
Now, as a radical conservationist, I see individual human life as expendable, but depressives don’t really use so many more resources than anyone else.
And depressives, if they gain coping mechanisms, may in some cases be better able to deal with huge failure than those without depressive episodes in their pasts. This is useful in certain high-powered careers. Optimists are good at getting elected to high office, but bad at dealing with Really Bad Stuff, because, well, they’re optimists. They can’t tell it’s really bad until they get broken.
(The last paragraph is apparently the theory of some guy I just read an interview with in Maclean’s of all places. Don’t remember the issue, but one this summer.)