Atheists - Why is it wrong to commit suicide? It is your life. Yes?

Answer 1

I don't think it is wrong. I think it is wrong to let someone commit suicide when they are not in their right mind. Many people who commit suicide are depressed and see no other way out, depression can be cured or go away on its own with time, these people are not of their right mind. As for those who are terminally ill and suffering and know there is no cure, they are not just depressed, they are dying and often in a great deal of physical pain, it should be their choice.

Answer 2

I wish we could dispense with the notion of "right" or "wrong" altogether. Examining the helpfulness or harmfulness of an action leads to much better ethical decisions.

Take your example. We live in community, and suicide inflicts pain on family, friends, and even acquaintances of the person who commits the act. While you may have the right to do yourself in, to inflict the intense emotional pain on those around you is truly harmful. Better to look at the problem and seek other solutions, if possible.

However, there are those moments (such as when death is expected soon from illness) when suicide may make sense, so long as it is planned, discussed with those who will care for you before and after, and other options have been fully examined and found to be woefully unacceptable.

And just as a side note, from a purely Christian ethical standpoint, someone mustn't commit suicide because it is seen as murdering themselves, therefore sinning. When someone feels that God has already condemned them for other sins, what is one more? Under this rubric, the only reason to NOT commit suicide is to avoid going to hell, and if you feel as if there is already a large gap between you and God, then how can you find any reason to avoid taking your own life. I think this is one of the reasons for the elevated suicide rate among Gay teenagers. (By the time gay people reach adulthood, their suicide rate drops to the same as the general population.)

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Answer 3

Take for example the movie Cast Away. Tom Hanks was already considered dead by his friends and family. They had mourned him and had a funeral. At that point his existence meant nothing to anybody else but himself. Considering that the world thought he was dead would he have been wrong to kill himself? No. He wouldn't have hurt anybody but himself and I'm sure his self wouldn't complain once it was dead.

The victims of death are the living not the dead. If someone commits suicide they hurt their families. There families may have no right to feel hurt but it is the case nonetheless.