Thread: Right to Commit Suicide?

This thought popped into my head out of nowhere today. I have absolutely no history of suicidal thoughts, nor do I plan to. It is merely something to think about. Should people be allowed to commit suicide if they want? I've heard these stories of someone about to jump off of a bridge to commit suicide and then a random police officer doesn't let him/her. Or similar stories like that.

Should the government really label you as mentally unstable because you're choosing to bring a death to yourself now that you will experience one day anyways?

Suicide has had many different lights shed on it by legal systems of different countries.


Here's a bit I pulled from Wikipedia:

Spoiler for Suicide laws:

Australia (Victoria)

In the Australian state of Victoria, while suicide itself is no longer a crime, a survivor of a suicide pact can be charged with manslaughter. Also, it is a crime to counsel, incite, or aid and abet another to attempt or commit suicide, and the law explicitly allows any person to use "such force as may reasonably be necessary" to prevent another from committing suicide.

England and Wales

Suicide (and thus also attempted suicide) was illegal under English Law but ceased to be an offence with the passing of the Suicide Act 1961; the same Act makes it an offence to assist a suicide. While the simple act of suicide is lawful the consequences of committing suicide might turn an individual event into an unlawful act, as in the case of Reeves v Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis [2000] 1 AC 360 [3], where a man in police custody hanged himself and was held equally liable with the police (a cell door defect enabled the hanging) for the loss suffered by his widow; the practical effect was to reduce the police damages liability by 50%.

India

In India, attempted suicide is a punishable crime by up to one year in prison and/or fine. For a brief while, the courts had repealed the section of the penal code which prohibited suicide but a recent decision of the Indian Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of prohibiting suicide.

Ireland

Attempted suicide is not a criminal offence in Ireland. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal however. Under Irish law self-harm is not generally seen as a form of attempted suicide.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, being present and giving moral support during someone's suicide is not a crime; neither is supplying general information on suicide techniques. However, it is a crime to participate in the preparation for or execution of a suicide, including supplying lethal means or instruction in their use. (Euthanasia may be an exception. See Euthanasia in the Netherlands.)

Russian Federation

In Russia, inciting someone to suicide by threats, cruel treatment or systematic humiliation is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. (Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

Scotland

Suicide is not an offence under Scots Law thus there is no offence committed by attempting suicide as there is in England and Wales. A person who assists a suicide might be charged with murder, culpable homicide or no offence at all depending upon the facts of each case.

Singapore

In Singapore, a person attempting to commit suicide can be imprisoned by up to one year.

United States

In the United States, suicide has never been punished as a crime nor penalized by property forfeiture or ignominious burial.[citation needed] Historically, various states listed the act as a felony, but all were reluctant to enforce it. By 1963, six states still considered attempted suicide a crime (North and South Dakota, Washington, New Jersey, Nevada, and Oklahoma that repealed its law in 1976). By the early 1990s only two US states still listed suicide as a crime, and these have since removed that classification. In some U.S. states, suicide is still considered an unwritten "common law crime," that is, a crime based on the law of old England as stated in Blackstone's Commentaries. (So held the Virginia Supreme Court in Wackwitz v. Roy in 1992.) As a common law crime, suicide can bar recovery for the family of the suicidal person in a lawsuit unless the suicidal person can be proven to have been "of unsound mind." That is, the suicide must be proven to have been an involuntary, not voluntary, act of the victim in order for the family to be awarded money damages by the court. This can occur when the family of the deceased sues the caregiver (perhaps a jail or hospital) for negligence in failing to provide appropriate care.[4] Some legal scholars look at the issue as one of personal liberty. According to Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU, "The idea of government making determinations about how you end your life, forcing you...could be considered cruel and unusual punishment in certain circumstances, and Justice Stevens in a very interesting opinion in a right-to-die [case] raised the analogy."[5]

In many jurisdictions medical facilities are empowered or required to commit anyone whom they believe to be suicidal for evaluation and treatment. See Code 5150 for example.

I'm not sure where I stand on it as I've never actually thought about this before.

I think people should be able to. Of course no person in their right mind would commit suicide out of the blue, but those who have been really screwed over in life should have the option. This is not to say I think they SHOULD commit suicide, as I would suggest some type of counseling/advice first, but making it illegal is ridiculous.

Everything is suicide.

It is beautiful.

Why the **** is it even a crime? someone else, YES, but yourself? retarded.

I must take the opportunity to quote Terry Pratchett:

Suicide was against the law. Johnny had wondered why. It meant that if you missed, or the gas ran out, or the rope broke, you could get locked up in prison to show you that life was really very jolly and thoroughly worth living.

What Kiza said... That quote is made of win.

And no, it should not be against the law. If a police officer tried to arrest me for doing it, I'd assault him/her on purpose in the hopes that they shoot me out of self defense.

I have to counter that, Mes. Y'see, homicide is impinging on the freedom of another person. Namely, the freedom to not be killed. It may not be a very sophisticated freedom, but it's a pretty big one. Suicide, though, is in your hands. You're not impinging on anyone elses freedom except your own. And your freedom is completely yours, as is your life, and both are decided by you as to what to do with them.

I don't necessarily support suicide. Sometimes, there are better way of resolving things. But the point remains valid.

Also,

Originally Posted by ClouD

Everything is suicide.

It is beautiful.

:/ Explain.

^^ I agree with that argument, although I doubt it would convince law-makers. Whenever I hear the it's your life argument, I think of some 14 year old boy shouting at his mom, "It's MY life, I can do whatever I WANT!" and slamming his bedroom door.

Originally Posted by Mes Tarrant

^^ I agree with that argument, although I doubt it would convince law-makers. Whenever I hear the it's your life argument, I think of some 14 year old boy shouting at his mom, "It's MY life, I can do whatever I WANT!" and slamming his bedroom door.

It is his life, and he can do whatever he wants. Even though his decision may be stupid, since he is more than likely stupid.

People make dumb decisions, suicide *in most cases* is one of them.

Originally Posted by Kiza

Originally Posted by ClouD

Everything is suicide.

It is beautiful.

:/ Explain.

We are running our selves into the ground.
That is the only thing to do.
With every breath, dying, expending.

We all have 'right'. By birth, we have every right.
We can kill another person with that birthright, restrict them from killing themselves, proclaim laws.

We are animated soil, waves of the ocean overlapping into ourselves.
Yes, I say this dance is beautiful.

I think from a legal persepective, attempting suicide shouldn't give doctors or the police the right to violently keep you from doing it by restraining you physically, taking stuff away from you, taking you into custody etc. However, they should be required to talk to you in ways that would keep you from doing it. Also, if the person is physically unable to commit suicide, he should get assistance. It should be illegal to encourage someone to commit suicide.

The connection to mental stability and health is very important here. The question is whether being mentally sane and stable and wanting to commit suicide are mutually exclusive. Because if they are, my argument is shit because (a) you can't make an informed decision about ending your life and (b) doctors and police should then be required to protect your life by using physical force.

Originally Posted by De-lousedInTheComatorium

Should the government really label you as mentally unstable because you're choosing to bring a death to yourself now that you will experience one day anyways?

Definitely.