Should suicide be legal?

[kris]

I say yes, it should be. If you have a right to live, shouldn't you have a right to die? What if you lost all your limbs in a accident? What if your wife of 40 years died? What if you had a serious disease? I dont think there should be restrictions on if you can or cannot. Say, only terminal ill people can hve the option, etc. I dont think anyone other then the person should be able to decide the conditions in which they have the right to choose. I have no place to take that choice away from people, and neither does the government. Neither do any of you.

However, I think there should be ways to help show a person why suicide is not a very good option. You may get some 16 year old teen who just broke up with his gilfriend, who would want to end his life. So i think education on the subject would still be important.

Now for assisted suicide. I think this should be legal as well. However, there should be regulations on who can do this. Just like there are regulations on who can be a doctor. So, i think only people in a healthcare type positon, etc. could do a assisted uicide. Not some cult leader.

[Pikachoo]

The only reason that the law is in place is so that people who attempt suicide and fail their attempt, go to jail where they can be "supervised" and not hurt themselves again. I don't think it should be illegal, but people should be mandated to get help after they attempt it.

As for assisted suicide, I believe that it should be legal as well. Imagine being 80 yrs old and your wife of 60 yrs dies, and you are bedridden and know that the rest of your life(what is left of it) you are going to be stuck in bed, with hardly anyone visiting you, or worse, stuck in a nursing home somewhere. No way, not me. Give me some pills and let me go join my wife. The guy who gives the pills to me will be my savior.

[SickLude]

i never knew suicide was a crime....people have different degrees of tolarences and some cannot handle their own problems by merely talking or logically working it out....this of course results in suicide and other forms of self-hurt....i dont think any government can control this situation, its too personal. who are they gonna charge with the crime? the next of kin? the spouse? personally, i dont see why anyone would want to take they're own life...willingly of course. its the most precious thing we own. our very existance. its a wonderful thing when you think about it. so why people want would want to end their misery is kinda hard to understand for me. it may be because i can handle my problems or because i was taught that life sux sometimes and bumps in the road are necessary for anyone to gain valueable experience.......anyway, thats what i think...


deuces

[SickLude]

yea, i just thought about the failed suicide attempt....that's illegal isnt it?

[V.S.]

Who makes the line between the 16 yr old after a breakup and the 80 yr old suffering blinding pain from a terminal illness? It can get messy if you try to make it official.

I also have 2 other reasons against an official right to suicide. 1st, we all help eachother(ideally) in our society, so one person killing themselves should hurt everyone. After society's investment in a person's upbringing, it would be "nice" for that person to try and pay it back by living their life. 2nd, I think any such approval would only encourage fence-sitters to go for the easy way out. If a person isn't completely sure they want to die, I think its just irresponsable to do anything that might convince them to do so.

[kris]

Originally posted by Pikachoo
The only reason that the law is in place is so that people who attempt suicide and fail their attempt, go to jail where they can be "supervised" and not hurt themselves again. I don't think it should be illegal, but people should be mandated to get help after they attempt it.

But why do we put them in jail? Because the goverment basically thinks they dont have the right to try and commit suicide, or at least thats what I think.

[taranaki]

As far as I know,suicide is not illegal in N.Z., and even if it is,there can be no effective way of punishing a corpse.

As regardes assisted suicide,it can only be truly ethical if all of the immediate familly of the prospective cadaver are reconcilled to the decision. Like it or not ,in electing to kill yourself,you can inflict enormous pain on others,just a surely as if you were to take an axe and hit them. No individual should have the right to inflict that kind of pain simply to relieve their own misery.

On the other hand,there should be an absolute right for a person to specify that they do not want their life to be artificially prolonged.Too many people assume that the medical proffession will automatically accept their wishes in the event that life becomes diminished as a result of illness or injury.Without the full consent of the patient, the doctor who decides to revive an elderly or sick person after a potentially terminal seizure is simply playing God.

[kris]

Originally posted by V.S.
Who makes the line between the 16 yr old after a breakup and the 80 yr old suffering blinding pain from a terminal illness? It can get messy if you try to make it official.

But see, there shouldnt be a line. There should be education involved in why suicide is really not a viable option. No matter if you are 80, or 16 years old.

Originally posted by V.S.

I also have 2 other reasons against an official right to suicide. 1st, we all help eachother(ideally) in our society, so one person killing themselves should hurt everyone. After society's investment in a person's upbringing, it would be "nice" for that person to try and pay it back by living their life. 2nd, I think any such approval would only encourage fence-sitters to go for the easy way out. If a person isn't completely sure they want to die, I think its just irresponsable to do anything that might convince them to do so.

true that suicide can affect more then the person, I dont feel I have any obligation to 'repay' anyone by living my life. Lets say I have a horrible accident, where I am a burden to my family. I have to have someone sit and change my shitty diaper. How could that be considered nice repayment to my family? Im not saying your idea is bad, just o you know. I just dont agree on the repayment part.

As for the fence sitters taking the easy way out? i feel thats darwinism at its best. If they want to end their life just because they are broke, and too lazy to find work. Nobody loves them, whatever. Let them go. But again, education woul play a good part in letting them know there are other ways to deal with the hardships of life.

[MoJoRaCeR]

It's so funny to see a thread on this today, I JUST HAD THIS CONVO WITH A BUNCH OF PEOPLE LAST WEEK. WE JUST BURIED A FRIEND ON JAN 9TH WHO COMMITTED SUICIDE. hE HAD BEEN ARRESTED FOR ROBBING HOUSES, TO SUPPORT HIS HEROIN HABBIT. HE WAS IN JAIL FOR 35 MINUTES WHEN THEY FOUND A SHEET TIED AROUND HIS NECK WHICH HAD RIPPED AWAY FROM WHEREVER HE HUNG HIMSELF (OFF THE CELL DOOR IS WHAT WE THINK) HOWEVER THE POINT OF THIS STORY IS I THINK IT SHOULD BE LEGAL, HIS POINT OF VIEW IN HIS LETTER WAS THAT HIS PARENTS HAD ALREADY REMORTGAGED TO GET HIM OUT OF TROUBLE ONCE, HE DID NOT WANT HIS FAMILY TO HAVE TO SACRIFICE FOR HIM AGAIN, HE ALSO DID NOT WANT TO DRAG HIS LITTLE BROTHER DOWN WITH HIM, HE KNEW IF HE KEPT USING SO WOULD HIS BRO, SO IN THE LONGRUN HE JUST WANTED TO STOP HIS OWN PAIN AND NOT CAUSE ANYMORE TO HIS FAMILY...WHATS WRONG WITH THIS? SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE SO FAR GONE AND DEPRESSED THAY SEE NO OTHER WAY.

[kris]

Originally posted by taranaki
No individual should have the right to inflict that kind of pain simply to relieve their own misery.

Thats a good point, but why should I live a miserable life to me, just to please, and keep others happy? My life is not about what others think, or feel. It is my own. But yes, I know first hand that suicide can bring great pain to those close to the person who did the deed.

[V.S.]

Originally posted by kbslacker



true that suicide can affect more then the person, I dont feel I have any obligation to 'repay' anyone by living my life. Lets say I have a horrible accident, where I am a burden to my family. I have to have someone sit and change my shitty diaper. How could that be considered nice repayment to my family? Im not saying your idea is bad, just o you know. I just dont agree on the repayment part.

Well, I'm just saying that if a "normal" person just decides to kill themselves, that is hurting society, and as such society probably shouldn't, for its own sake, approve. There are ofcourse exceptions where suicide may help everyone, but like I said before, making a "line" where the law ends is hard.

As for the fence sitters taking the easy way out? i feel thats darwinism at its best. If they want to end their life just because they are broke, and too lazy to find work. Nobody loves them, whatever. Let them go. But again, education woul play a good part in letting them know there are other ways to deal with the hardships of life.

People do go through depression without being worthless bags of organic waste their entire lives you know.

[moondog]

Originally posted by taranaki
As far as I know,suicide is not illegal in N.Z., and even if it is,there can be no effective way of punishing a corpse.

Actually, the Crimes Act specifically requires and empowers any person to do what is needful to prevent a suicide, or actions that would amount to suicide. I'm very bothered by the idea though, that in the US, people go to jail if they attempt suicide - I hope that';s not actually correct. Jail is no safe place; people suicide regularly in jail.

There are many many reasons for suicide, and there is no one solution, nor way to approach the problem (for example, someone in extreme pain from cancer, as opposed to someone after a relationship break-up. Although it also pays to remember that people who have experienced both the pain of cancer and that of major depression, find the depression to be worse). Some suicides absolutely should be prevented if at all possible. People suffering psychosis for example, have a very high rate of suicide, but very often this is based on the nature of their psychotic symptoms, and after they receive effective treatment, they no longer wish to be dead. Similarly in depression, though there are usually other factors influencing those that actually go as far as making an attempt.

Suicide has been very closely linked to social trends: during wars, the suicide rate drops, during economic depressions, it goes up. Largely, suicide is a social problem, with a vast number of determinants. Consequently it is very difficult to predict or prevent.

btw: with all the hoop-la about youth suicide, I wonder if anyone knows that the group in society with the highest rate of suicide (though of course not the highest absolute numbers) is men over 85. Younger men (15-25 odd) come way down the list as far as the actual rate of suicide goes.

[YogsVR4]

We've had a suicide thread on here from time to time and I wont rehash everything I've said before but...

I understand that if someone is in great physical pain or beyond help and if they want to check out its fine by me. Anyone who does because they just feel overwhelmed while they still have family depending on them (children especially) deserve a nice hot room in hell.

The act shouldn't be considered illegal, but anyone who lives through the effort will get zero sympathy from me.

[kris]

Originally posted by V.S.


People do go through depression without being worthless bags of organic waste their entire lives you know.

Depression is treatable.

[JD@af]

Originally posted by kbslacker
I say yes, it should be. If you have a right to live, shouldn't you have a right to die? What if you lost all your limbs in a accident? What if your wife of 40 years died? What if you had a serious disease? I dont think there should be restrictions on if you can or cannot. Say, only terminal ill people can hve the option, etc. I dont think anyone other then the person should be able to decide the conditions in which they have the right to choose. I have no place to take that choice away from people, and neither does the government. Neither do any of you.

However, I think there should be ways to help show a person why suicide is not a very good option. You may get some 16 year old teen who just broke up with his gilfriend, who would want to end his life. So i think education on the subject would still be important.

Now for assisted suicide. I think this should be legal as well. However, there should be regulations on who can do this. Just like there are regulations on who can be a doctor. So, i think only people in a healthcare type positon, etc. could do a assisted uicide. Not some cult leader.

Yes I think it should 100% be legal (I am very much a supporter of youthanasia in contrast to living the end of your life constantly in and out of hospitals, or in a nursing home). True, killing yourself may inflict great pain and suffering upon those who love and care about you, but IMO it is your life, and your priorities should be your wishes, which need not reflect theirs.

Not much to add besides that, Kris; you covered the bases nicely above.