Suicide....Should it be legal?

I don't see why it shouldn't be. I've never heard a compelling reason.

what about euthanasia?

Is suicide illegal in the U.S.?

Well not really, i mean they cant convict someone of suicide obviously, but its illegal in the sense that if someone tries to commit suicide,
authorities/doctors/ basically everyone will do everything they can to stop them from killing themselves. If they keep trying to kill themselves, eventually they are put in mental institutions

They aren't put in mental institutions. They are forced to sign an agreement that says they won't try to commit suicide anymore.

I've always found it hard to arrest a dead man.

Re: Suicide....Should it be legal?


Happiness should not and (in cases of true happiness) does not equate to property.

The majority of people who commit suicide are in a self-created, lonely world. This is often caused by a selfish attitude where the only thing a person cares about is him or herself. When a suicidal person learns how to be happy with what they have and to care about someone other than themselves, they can often find reason to live. I'd rather try to teach a person how to be happy and increase the value and meaning of that persons life.
A quote by William Penn comes to mind...
"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness or abilities that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

The thing is, if it's attempted, then they didn't do it. Of course, this could fall under the onus of Attempted Robbery, or Attempted Murder. I suppose Attempted Murder would be accurate enough.

But if it's tried and succeeded, like NNY said, you can't arrest a dead man. . . so the point is rather moot, isn't it?

Happiness should have been property because Jefferson janked the Declaration of Independance from something Hobbes or Locke or one of them British political theorists wrote about the natural rights of man. The three things listed were "life, liberty, and property". Jefferson liked the idea, but couldn't include property because that would mean he would actually have to give indentured servants property. So he changed it to "the pursuit of happiness". Some people think the US would be a much better place today if he hadn't.

No those are just feel good words and I among others think that it is those words that cause so much hare to ourselves and to others in theis country many out side of it.

It is my opinion that we are responsible for our selves both our happiness and unhappiness. In addition, the right to die is a right which we can exercise at any time. No law can prevent it.

People who succeed at suicide no longer have life, liberty or the ability to pursue happiness, so your original "rights" argument is not logical.

You might make a case for the right to privacy and self-determination. I think that people who are suffering from incurable disease should have a legal option for suicide (assisted if necessary) if they so desire.

People who wish to commit suicide due to mental illness, depression or teen angst need help. They have a chance to live a long and happy life with appropriate treatment.

Euthanasia is a whole different question. There is no point in keeping a body alive if the mind is irretrievably gone, and it is inhumane to prolong suffering if the body is beyond help. The problem is that it might be used to save insurance companies money or expedite an inheritance.

I think it's only illegal as a device to give the authorities the means to put you under psychiatric observation and care.

Terry often makes things very easy for me.

I cannot put the thoughts she just shared into better words, so I'll just say...

...AMEN...

...to what she wrote.

Terry, if you have the right to read anything you want, you also have the right to read nothing, if you so choose. Similarly, if you have the right to life, you have the right to not live, if you so choose.

Yeah, you'd think that rufio, but that turns out not to be the case.

Myself, I'm a live and let live (or in this case, die) type person myself. I rarely care about what a person unknown to me is going to do with their life. The people I do care about, it's my responsibility to take care of them. Not in a literal sense, but if I find out that a friend is contemplating suicide, I see it as my duty to try and help them work it out and get over it. Why? Cuz I'm selfish. Pure and simple. I would also feel like an ass if a friend killed themselves, and I did nothing to try and help them.

Would I try to help a stranger? Sure, if they reached out to me somehow or someway. I'm not going to walk up to a jumper on a bridge and try and talk them down. . . but if I'm sitting at a McDonalds and someone starts talking to me, then yeah, I'll help.

I agree, turner, I'd try to convince someone to live, too. But people are given the ability to choose badly. That's what makes them human.

terry

it doesnt matter what rights you have after you are dead, i have the right to life, then i also have the right to take my life. if you have the right to vote, dont you also have the right to not vote? or to unregister so you cant vote? a life is one persons "property" they can do with it what they want, if i own a cornfield, i can destroy it if i want, just like since i "own" my life, i can destroy it if i want

also, you can be put into a mental institution and strapped in if you try to commit suicide too many times

Re: Suicide....Should it be legal?


Making suicide illegal is not going prevent suicidal individuals from seeking death. Regardless of the law, each of us understand that we have the ability to take our own lives even if we are not granted the right to.

Therefore, the suicidal individual who is depressed and hopeless is not going to give damn if the police are going to arrest him since he is preparing to give up life.

Only sound advice and counselling is able to recall the individual from the brink of suicide.

rufio and Locke, the right to life is a legal fiction. All you really have is a right not to be killed unlawfully, with the understanding that society will attempt to punish your killer if you are murdered.

If you really had q right to commit suicide, no one would have the right to intervene. Is it ethical to allow someone to kill themselves and end all of their rights permanently due to a temporary mental state? People who are suffering from depression or emotional trauma are in no condition to make life-or-death decisions for themselves. They need intervention.


The right to vote does not give you the right NOT to vote if voting is mandatory (in communist countries, for instance). You do not have the right to grow marijuana on your property, destroy wetlands or use it in any way contrary to zoning ordinances. You do not have a right NOT to read in English class even if you are given a choice of books.