Should suicide be legal?

Question

Before you answer, consider two points:

1) For obvious reasons, it is impossible to punish someone who commits suicide. The closest we can come is to punish someone who tries to commit suicide and fails.

2) In a society based on individual rights, where we assume that people have the right to determine HOW they live... do we contradict ourselves if we say those same people don't have the right to determine WHETHER they live?

Answer 1

Suicide is currently legal in all 50 US states -- and many other countries. Even attempted suicide is usually not illegal, for the person attempting it.

Personally, I don't think the govt should be making decisions about how (or even IF) people live their lives.

I would prefer to see people have the option of getting counseling, and making an informed rational decision about whether they want to end their life -- for whatever reason.

And then, if they've rationally considered it and made a choice, they should be allowed to do it in a way that wasn't messy or a burden on others.

Under the current laws, nothing stops people from committing suicide -- and no law actually could. All it does is require people to be secretive, to avoid talking about what they are contemplating, and then to find a way to do it that often leaves a huge mess for others to clean up.

Answer 2

It already is. The only thing illegal about attempted suicide, in some cases, is if you endanger others in the process. I recall reading a story not too long ago about a disturbed woman who drove the wrong way down a highway in an attempt to commit suicide, and instead just ended up causing another motorist to crash who got killed. She survived and was charged with manslaughter.

Answer 3

No. I doubt for the reasons you have pointed out that it really makes a lot of difference to define suicide in legal or illegal terms.
Suicide is not a rational act taken by a rational person of sound mind. I strongly suspect that if a person seriously contemplates suicide, the legally of such an act ever enters his or her mind.
The "final solution" is indeed final - most problems leading to this act are not.

Answer 4

well i have never heard of someone being punished that had attempted but failed well if you don't count being locked in a mental hospital for 10 days

but anyways, yes i do think a person should have the right to decide if and when and how they die

Answer 5

People shouldnt commit suicide.
simple as that

Answer 6

only for liberals! can we do this in time for the 08 election?go FRED!

Answer 7

well i dunno about that if if some idiot wanna kill him self i say let him do it instead of wasting our tax money on bringing the FD and the PD ans making a big scene outta it