Suicide: An Ethical Delimna

[bennyboy]

Sure, I would have killed myself several years ago, the only reason I haven't is because of how it would affect my wife and those around me. Literally. If it would affect no one, I'd go out and do it right now.

I understand that helping to support and encourage suicidal people is very important. But my question remains, how do we implement these "ethics" you speak of? Do we educate, enforce or coerce? I see no other methods. I'm all for education and support, but not enforcement or coercion when it comes to your own life. And teaching people what is ethical, by some rigid standard, is the very problem with religion.

So what is your practical suggestion?

(As always normal caveats apply)

The issue of liberty revolves around the concept of free will: who has it, and to what degree should they be allowed to act on it?

I think by far the majority of suicidal people are either naturally imbalanced due to bipolar disorder, or due to the effects of drug and alcohol use. In strong cases, love (or the loss of love) could lead to overwhelming negative affect as well.

If you knew someone was drugged, and that they were thinking about suicide because they were drugged, would you intervene? I would. What if rather than being artificially drugged, a brain malfunction (largely correctible) caused the release of unhealthy levels of neurotransmitters, causing what in essence is still a loss of self-determination? Would you intervene? I still would, given that there were avenues still available by which the person's mental experience might be brought into line.

So the short answer-- counseling, social support, hotlines, free addiction clinics, parenting support, free meds, and in extreme cases commission to an institution. "She's so horribly sad that ending it will save her from her horrible suffering" only works for me if there's no better option that society can provide-- asked for or not. Sometimes, liberty is just the freedom to hang oneself, and that's not a very good kind of freedom, in my opinion.