Suicide

Ultimately, people do not have the right to take their own life. I believe this for a number of reasons including religion. I also believe this because I don’t respect people who quit no matter how hard the journey or how painful the consequences.

I thought about suicide in two different situations. (I would not like to be involved in either because it’s difficult for me to put my foot down).

The first was an older lady dying of cancer and she was suffering in pain. If she took her life even though she was going to die she did not trust God with her life. This would also leave her family feeling grief and loss for her death, but their last opinion of her might change due to the fact she gave up. Usually this leaves a really bitter last feeling towards the person. Friends and family might also think that the time she had left with them was not worth the pain she was enduring.

The second situation is one I thoroughly disagree with and would stand up for. A middle age woman is going through a crisis and she thinks that she has nothing to live for. She also thinks that her family would be better off with her life insurance money instead of a mother and wife. So she takes the situation in her own hands and kills herself, but makes it look like an accident. Her husband clearly had a suspicion of what was going on but didn’t want their children to think of their mother that way. First of all, the woman leaves behind a family that needs her support whether she’s a miserable wreck or a loving person. Just the fact that she’s alive is supportive over the fact that she took her life because the family wasn’t worth trying to fix. The rest of her friends and family would take the blame for not noticing anything different going on and would also hold a final grudge toward her. I also believe that this woman needs to trust God because it says in the Bible that he’ll never give anyone anything too hard to handle. This does NOT in any way guarantee that life is easy, but everything he throws at a person they can handle.

I don’t think that suicide or assisted suicide is right but I think that the government has no right getting involved in someone’s personal issues. I think that it’s a waste of time and tax dollars to keep someone chained up against their will because of “suspicion”. If the person is going to kill themselves chaining them up and forcing them to sit through therapy is not going to help them. I also think that the government is very black and white according to the law where a lot of suicide issues range in the grey area. Therefore the government has no right to take their black and white rules and judge someone in the “gray” area, because each case will be different.

~*Halie*~

I believe everything happens for a reason. Everyone is who they are for a reason. Everyone is here on earth for a reason, a purpose most times unbeknown to us. There is a reason for every action, every situation, and every life. Each human being was placed on this earth for a purpose.

I am a Christian and strongly believe it is wrong to take your own life or anyone else’s for that matter. Whether you are killing yourself or someone else, it is murder either way. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” Taking ones own life is blatantly going against what God has planned for your life. Who knows what someone is capable of accomplishing unless they endure the struggles and pain of reality and decide to grow into a stronger, more successful person because of them. Who knows what one would miss out on, what would have happened in their life, if they had chosen to stay alive?

However, I understand that there are many people who do not believe in God or that the body is a temple and that we must treat it with respect. Whether one believes in God or not, suicide is murder and that should always me known as murder. Committing suicide is simply the wrong path to take in any situation, no matter how hard. By taking someone’s life, especially your own, is taking away not just a life, but the potential success they will endure, love they will give, joy they will receive, and ultimate happiness life brings to the world around us all.

Suicide is murder no matter how young or old one may be. Whether someone is sick or healthy, they should not have the right to take their own life. They will leave this earth when it is meant for them to leave. It is not our choice to decide when or how we die. It is out of our hands, whatever Gods will for our lives may be, we must do the best we can in life and know that whatever is meant to happen will happen. But not on our time, it will happen when it is meant to happen.

(My opinion changed a lot while I was writing this so if it doesn’t make sense, sorry.)

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering,” Ben Okri.

Some speak of death as the end to all things. Some speak of death as a cycle of life written by God himself. When is death right or wrong? When can we determine someone’s “time” to go? The only time death is the end and the only possible solution of life, is when nature takes its course. Different cultures would view this statement as a time of pain and suffrage as time will eventually lay rest upon a dying soul, as no medication or care is bestowed to help the dying person. When I speak of nature taking its course, I am referring to the course that could eventually help someone to live a longer, happier life. A course that may cause pain and suffrage, but will result in youth, life, and hope to continue life and live it to the fullest.

People that are suicidal, become victims of their own success, their own failure, and their own cause. They find no pleasure in life because they view the negative aspects in front of them, and disregard the positive outlooks of fulfillment. They look for the easy way out and seem to think their life has no meaning. When they reach that assumption, BANG, gun shot to the head results a quick death to end whatever pain they thought they have suffered from. If they choke at the last second, slipping the gun off a couple inches, blowing away half a cheek, then they continue to suffer a greater pain then they could imagine. A pain derived from their attempt to commit suicide. But why do people commit suicide? What could possibly make them think there is no point to live anymore? Who knows?

“Is it the same for the young and the old? The healthy and the sick?”
I really don’t have an opinion on this because I have never felt so mad or so hurt to the point that I would want to die. Life is hard, and day by day we must admit to the fact that we will have trouble when we get knocked down, but that does not mean life is over. I can’t just say that a young, healthy person has just the same right to die as an old, unhealthy person, because each person is different. But I can say one thing, with every death, there is some type of sorrow. Take Anna Nicole Smith for instance, she died due to an over dose on drugs, leaving behind a baby. Is it because of her fame and fortune that made people mourn her dead body? Who knows?

People have every right to kill, every right to steal, and every right to cheat. Likewise people have the right to commit suicide. However, with such rights, people must accept the consequences. Though suicide is quite easily dismissed as a horrible sin (as the first three acts that people have a right to commit) by monotheistic religions, it actually has just as many gray areas. I believe there can be a rational and even appropriate time to consider suicide, but that is a rare and specific phenomenon.

I do not believe in the argument that people should not commit suicide because they are intervening in God’s plan… or otherwise leaving before they were meant to. If God knows everything, I do suppose that He would already know who was going to commit suicide and who was not. If God is omnipotent, there just is no way to differ from his plan. Whatever happens happens because it was supposed to happen, right? If everything is meant to be, then suicides are meant to be too—as ugly as they might seem.

I do however think that it seems unlikely that a young and healthy person can ever rationally set his or her mind on suicide. Even Juliet, whose alleged soul mate died for her, had no rational reason to die. Unless Romeo was overcome with selfishness and a love for love (or otherwise aware that he was in an epic romantic tragedy), he would have wanted his love to continue living with the possibility of finding happiness anew. The truth is that people can fall in love more than once. Any teenager possessed by angst doesn’t have reasonable cause for desiring death. Humans are incredibly resilient creatures, and some young people may be ignorant to this fact as well. In these cases death is the easy way out. If a person can come to the conclusion that they should die without much difficult deliberation, chances are they are better off alive.

Based on my Catholic upbringing I have never been told to consider the possibility that maybe suicide can be an answer. This westernized point of view is not considering the rather well-thought-out Japanese culture for one. But one need not look to the other side of the globe to find a plausible motive for suicide. I can understand why someone with a terminal illness would want to die. Chances are they’ve made peace with themselves. These people who might be able to make a reasonable decision to commit suicide are ones who appreciate the full value of their life. The wisdom a person seems to gain when they are faced with death must be great. Some decide that holding on is best. However, the government should not be the ones to demand that they let pain consume them slowly until a natural death. Million-Dollar Baby is a film that presents this very dilemma. It follows the story of an aspiring female boxer, Maggie. All odds are against her because of her age, gender, and lack of experience but her persistence finally wins over renowned trainer Frankie Dunn. With Dunn’s help, Maggie’s skill grows incredibly and so does the emotional bond between the boxer and the trainer. As her boxing career skyrockets, tragedy befalls the duo when an adversary horribly injures Maggie. Maggie is left paralyzed with no hope of recovery. Bedsores cause her to lose a leg, and Maggie sees that her half-life will only continue in this downward spiral until her rapidly approaching death. Maggie sees that she has been left in total obscurity and as a burden. Not every audience will embrace Maggie’s final choice, but they can see the difficult emotions and thought that went into deciding the final course of the tragedy. Maggie and her mentor had both come to love each other very much, and it is this deep love that finally allowed Dunn to overcome his faith and unplug the machine that was keeping her alive.

Suicide is currently considered a crime in the U.S. meaning that if you fail to kill yourself then you can sent away to jail, if you somehow pass the test saying that you are sane. A death is a death young or old, many people grieve over the loss of a young life though. I disagree with society on that part of this issue, the elderly have decades of knowledge that they could pass on to the newer generation while a young person has...less knowledge to pass on. *note to Mr. Geib: please change the 'It is the same for the young and the old?' its really bugging me thanks. Does a teenager who is suffering from massive amounts of hormones have any more right to kill themselves than a seven year old or a seventy year old with MS? I don't think so, I feel that all life is sacred even if it belongs to Jack the Ripper himself (or herself as the case might very well be).

I feel that even the life of animals even that of things such as black mambas is worthy of continuing life. True, if someone is in excruciating pain and is approaching the end of their life suicide looks like a very viable option. Does it make someone any less of a person if they kill themselves? Does it if they kill someone else? like the quote says 'suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.' Chuck Palahniuk once said, “You have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be.” You have lived your life this far, if you lived it to its fullest then you can continue to do so find new paths, take new risks, jump over some cliffs, not literal ones though, if you have not lived life to its fullest potential then thats just one more reason to continue living onwards.

I think that the individual should have the choice to take their life, if their in profuse pain and are approaching the end of their life and the pain medicine is not helping anymore suicide should be available. I would still strongly advise against it even if they are in constant pain of the severest form.

People definitely have the right to kill themselves. A person’s body is their own body, and they can do whatever they want to it. They have the free will to make their own choices in life, and if suicide is one of them, then so be it.

However, just because they have the right to, doesn’t mean they should. A person has the right to bear arms, but that doesn’t mean that they should carry a gun with them or even own a gun. A person has the right to free speech, yet there are still things that just should not be said. The same goes for suicide. I feel that every precaution should be taken to prevent suicide, but if after all of that the person still wants to die, then they have every right to.

I split suicide into two different categories: permissible, and inexcusable. Permissible suicide is when a person dying of a horrible, painful disease who is going to die anyway commits suicide. Although I may or may not agree with their suicide, I would understand why they did it and I would be able to forgive them. However, the thing that I see as the most cowardly and selfish act in existence is when an angst-filled teenager or someone going through a midlife crisis thinks that their life is so horrible that the only way out is to kill themselves. It’s completely selfish; I’m 99.9% sure that they do in fact have something to live for, that they have people who care about them and who would be devastated by their suicide, and that their life will turn out just fine.

But they still have the right to kill themselves. Nothing will ever change that.

I have many conflicting thoughts on suicide, but after some thought I have deemed that there are some situations in which suicide is acceptable.

I clicked the link on the picture above and was reading about suicide on wikipedia, that article discusses many different types and scenarios for suicide. I can see suicide if it means saving the life of another (they used the example of a soldier throwing him/herself on a grenade). This seems to be a noble thing to do, and I do not really classify it on the same level as a suicide motivated by grief or depression.

This however leads me to the next level of suicide, the grey zone. How big of a step is it going from saving a comrade, to dieing for one’s beliefs? Is the kamikaze right to kill himself? What if he is able to sink a carrier and perhaps turn the tide of a battle saving hundreds of his comrades? To use a more modern example, let’s say a Palestinian man wears a bomb into an Israeli café. While he does leave his family without a father, they may receive large sums of money as reimbursement from the government, and get to view their father as a martyr for the greater good. This middle section is much harder to classify, but I would look at it in a negative sense, simply because it involves killing many others as well.

Now on to the really fun stuff. I have very strong feelings against suicide as a means of escape (from grief, sadness, etc.). I have experienced a suicide very close to me, and I know what it does to loved ones and friends. The ONLY situation I can see it as really being acceptable in is a scenario with an elderly, dieing person. If they have carefully considered any emotional damage they may cause, sorted through their own beliefs, and talked it over with family/friends, then I could see assisted suicide being an option.

Curses! Even as I was writing that last paragraph I wondered what I would do if I was a PoW of some sorts and the enemy was going to try to coerce information out of me… darn these dilemmas!

What makes suicide that much different from murder? If the government is allowed to outlaw murder, why is suicide so different? "It's your choice" is the common response, but when you decide to commit suicide, are you in your right mind? In Med Tech last year we learned that people can refuse medical treatment and you have to comply with their wishes, if they are in their right mind. If not, you do what is best for their health. So why is suicide different. If you are walking down the street and you see someone about to jump off the top of a building, you don't continue walking and think "Oh look, there's someone exercising their individual rights". No, you think something along the lines of "Oh no! Has anyone called the police/talked to him/tried
to stop him....?"

I agree with Heather on this, I don't really think government can outlaw this, but just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. The reason I don't think the government really can outlaw it is that too many people see it as an individual right. The moral/religious reason can't be used since we have a separation of church and state. I do think it should be illegal to commit suicide. In class we talked about Juliet two years after Romeo's death, she would not still be willing to stab herself. She would be sixteen, and she would soon fall for someone else. Suicide is not something that is well-thought out and considered from every point of view, it is a rash and impulse decision.

The previous bit has been about if a young person should be able to commit suicide, but there is a different problem with the elderly/terminally ill. At first, I thought that they should be allowed to die, if their life is miserable and they are only able to lie in bed all day, I know I would be praying for death. But after thinking about it, I have to say that I still don't think suicide is the way to go. There is too much damage left behind in the families for anyone to justify it. (I'm trying to stay away from the religious reasons since everyone has different beliefs).

As a Catholic-Christian, I believe in the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments, one law states, “thou shall not kill”. This not only means killing others, but you as well. If someone killed themselves all it would lead to is sadness and depression for the people around the person that committed suicide. If one of those affects people gains too much depression, maybe they will commit suicide as well, continuing over and over into a never ending cycle of death.

I have almost experienced a suicidal incident with my cousin because her mother died. She missed her mother so much that she could not take the pain any more and decide to commit suicide. This is just like Romeo and Juliet (except it is between mother and daughter and not man and wife). Luckily her brother and father stopped her in time. But this just started from depression taking control of peoples’ lives.

Japanese Kamikazes killed themselves for their country. It seems honorable for a while but what difference does it make. In a war, Kamikazes take their lives and make not that much damage to the enemy. I think that Kamikazes make their lives meaning less except to fight for their country. But they can do so much more with their live.

Between the healthy and the sick, I believe that if the sick accept death and want to die, then they should be allowed to do it. On the other hand, healthy people are absolutely not allowed to commit suicide. If a sick patient is dying from an incurable disease and only have a few days or weeks to live, they should be allow to commit suicide instead of suffering through pain and agony.

When I was watching, The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, I was completely shock and shaken to see the pain that Jonny Kennedy had to go through with the genetic condition, dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (EB). Everyday is a constant pain and agony, just take off a bandage makes him scream in pain. Just watching him remove his bandages with the screaming gave me goose bumps. Why would anyone not want to allow a person to commit suicide if they are in this much physical pain?

So do I believe that suicide is wrong? Yeah, I do think it is wrong but if the suicide was cause by something that can be moved on. I believe that emotional pain should not be a good reason for suicide but a extreme amount of physical pain like EB should be allow, if the people is will to do it.

Suicide is the most selfish act on the face of this Earth. For every person that takes their own life at least one other person is affected- if not 10 or 20. Like I mentioned in the debate my uncle Bob killed himself after he decided to have a turkey sandwich my Aunt offered him for lunch. I wasn't all too close to him but the fact remains that he was family. And for those of you who don't know, my family is gigantic. Like Mexicans gigantic. Every single person in our family was mentally, emotionally and physically affected. I wondered how my grandpa felt. He refused to cry. Was he in shock at Bob's final act? I know I was. I believe that my grandpa had lost any respect for him and thought he chose the absolute worst way to go. (Oh and for those of you who don't know the majority of my family is Catholic.) In between tears my grandma asked me why Bob couldn't trust God to take care of him and call him to heaven when it was his time. Obviously he was in great pain with an advanced disease but while he was alive he showed our family what it was to be a fighter and determined. Is suicide an act of a fighter? Sounds like a quitter to me.

On a different note, I'm against suicide because I feel that it is taking a life that isn't yours. It's God's. He gives life and he takes life. We are not to mess with that. Everything happens for a reason and if you are fighting a disease it could be to show your bravery to family and friends as an inspiration. God works in mysterious ways. We need to trust in God's plan and let Him take control. We aren't going to win against Him. I feel sorry for those people who feel depressed and distracted but they must realize that humans are weak beings and fall at most obstacles. It is easy to jump to conclusions and simple to pull the trigger. Does that really solve any problems? I love the quote, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” It perfectly defines the problems in our lives that seem so large but in the overall picture are essentially small bumps on the way. My grandma always says, “It’s not the journey, but the destination.”

Perspective, people. Get some.

Suicide isn’t right or wrong. Suicide can either be a better choice or the worse in context of the situation. But it’s not in our hands. It’s in the individuals. Let them choose. Help them decide.

I respect the wishes of others, the culture of others, the values and traditions of others. I respect the kamikazes for their sacrifice and their value for their culture. I do not respect cowards, wimps, or those who neglect the value of life. I do not respect those who wallow in self-pity from one small obstacle that every living soul will encounter in life. But what does my respect matter? Once again, it is the individual’s choice. We can weigh out the options for them ,send them to counseling, encourage them to find meaning in life, but we can’t force them to live. That is the real wrong.

I believe that suicide is indeed the individual’s right. We have no right to judge whether or not the individual is right or wrong. Take for example, Person X. His wife died, his son died, his dog died, his fish died, his house burned down, his car got stolen. His life sucks. He wants to commit suicide. I would encourage him to rebuild his life. He has no hope. Now, I say, “Let him.” He believes that he’s in pain, that he can’t go on in life, that life is lack of meaning. I believe that no one should interfere with his wishes. He made the choice. I may have encouraged him to take the other route, to live, to try to recollect himself. And I have done my part.

Suicide is too complex to be placed into one example. The individual’s state of mind should be considered, the situation, etc. Yet, we should never force a person to live—as sick as that sounds. After all, you would want someone else to respect your wishes.

Although I respect the wishes of another, I don’t believe that I would be able to assist a suicide lest the individual were in such physical and mental pain that death would be the more logical choice. Dependent on the immensity of the pain, I would rather not play a part in the suicidal decision of another. However, if the individual genuinely would prefer death over life, I believe they have the right to suicide. After all, would there forced time on earth be worth it? Would they be happier ?

I personally believe that suicide is so wrong because it is so selfish and so dramatic. Like that quote says “It is a permanent solution to a temporary problem”. I am not trying to be rude when I say this but when people say they want to kill themselves because they have nothing to live for I just want to slap them. Find something! If somebody feels they have no family, friends, job, boyfriend/girlfriend, church, or anything else to live for then find something. If they feel they are so completely alone, then they have all this free time not living for anything and should spend it doing something good perhaps helping out a charity.
I have heard suicide defined as occurring when the negatives in ones life outweigh the positives. Suicide is when there is more things wrong with your life than right. But there will always be bad things in our lives. It’s life, it’s not fair and that is just how it is. It seems really immature and selfish, almost a childish act, to commit suicide. Like your life is so bad you should just die? Yes, that must be the answer because it will solve all your problems. No, suicide may save you some pain but it hurts everyone that you knew. This just leaves everyone you left behind with more pain because by killing yourself you said to them “ I didn’t care about you enough to not do this”.
Suicide just isn’t rational. Life can always get worse, and when you think it can’t just push on. Suicide is selfish. It is like a little kid trying to help himself while really he his hurting other. People who kill themselves just don’t think about the consequences of their actions because as much as they may think nobody loves them enough to care about whether they live or not I can guarantee that it will affect somebody.
Although I am completely against suicide, I don’t think we should have a law against it. ( I mean what could be the punishment?) Everyone is entitled to their own decisions, even if they are selfish and irrational. People will make selfish decisions no matter whether there is a law against it or not, so I don’t think we need to waste government money trying to force these people to do the right thing with their own lives. However, ( I may change my mind now) we do have other laws regarding things such as abuse, that force people to do the right thing, so maybe it is kind of a good idea to have a law against suicide. I am not really too sure about this decision concerning everyone else I just know that I personally believe suicide is wrong.

A person’s life is their own and they create their own path. Everything is random – some people have perfect lives while others are miserable. The boy whose skin fell off, Johnny, could have killed himself – even wanted to at one point or two in his life – but he decided against it. Other people – Ernest Hemingway being one – have had miserable lives and have successfully killed themselves to relieve their grief. It is not morally right. I personally would not advise someone to kill themselves, but it is ultimately the individual’s choice. People carry their own lives in their hands. My body is my own and I alone decide what I wish to do. It is the same with any other life-changing aspect of one’s life. Anything one does creates ripples, be them ill or otherwise. For example: I want to go to college and my parents will feel my absence. I want to be a nurse and I will heal those within my power, possibly giving my patients better lives. Why can others make decisions for themselves but not be able to hold their own lives in their hands?

And yet a life is a life and it should not be wasted. Suicide seems to be a rash decision made by the incoherent mind of a person facing their lives with distain and remorse. If a person can be stopped and if the purpose for them wanting to end their own lives does not hold strong, then it would be practical to restrain them. But who makes that decision? Who has the almighty right to say whether a person should or should not kill themselves? It is against the law to kill oneself, but if one succeeds, what are the police going to do? Handcuff them before they go into the body bag? Hold a court case with them in their coffin? Make the family pay a fine? Authority can only enforce this on the failed attempts of suicide.

Young versus old. Youths are stupid from too little time on the Earth and elders are insane from too much time. The first can be cured with time whereas the latter is incurable unless the cure for aging is found. Neither may be right in the head at the moment of their longing for death, but youths have time to mend and reform their minds. The future lies in the hands of the youth, but if the young are not saved from attempted suicides, where will that leave the future? And what of the elderly? In their long lives, they have created bonds and attachments and their startling death may cause far more ripples than a younger person. Considering the negatives of each situation, I would have to say that it is more important to save the youth from committing suicide. Their lives are new and their horizons are just starting to expand. The elders have lived their lives.

I do not support suicide in any way, but I do not believe that it should be up to the government to decide that a person, who obviously no longer wants to live, should be saved. Leave people to decide what to do with their own lives.

I am a person who is not a Christian or a Catholic but do have certain morals and i do not believe that a person has the right to kill themselves. The person would be extremely selfish towards everyone in their life, especially their parents. Their parents who have done so much for them, brought them up, gave them knowledge, invested in the person, and wanted the best for them. Their parents would carry that heavy gult eternally, thinking that they were the ones who let this tragic incident happen.

This also seems selfish towards God. God has provided you this opportunity to live on Earth, to live among others like you, to have the experience and the infinite wisdom. You would be spitting on what God had given you. God would feel that he has failed, his children are killing themselves, even when they everything going for them. God would not understand.

And for your friends and family. You would be cheating them out of a friend, a sister, a brother, an aunt, an uncle, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a mother, a father. Because of the past, you have no right to cheat others out of what they love the most.

For the young, they have no right to kill themselves. They have their whoole life to change and mend their own lives. There are so many opportunities out in the world to help unfortunate children. The young do not have enough knowledge to make such a judgement or decision as big and impacting like suicide.

For the elder, they have lived a full life. God has told them that their time is almost over. But when the elder want help to get out of this reality faster, it is telling people that they are in deep pain and they do not want to fight anymore. To others, it might represent and easy way out or a way to get back a family member. But at a elderly sick person who has terminal cancer and who is in constant pain, as a family member, i would not want that person undertake that much pain, to live in a hospital bed, with hospital food and that atmosphere of death in the air. i would feel very uncomfortable. If the elder asked to have help leave ealier, and knowing that they are in pain, have lived a full life, and have family members who love them dearly, and they love them back, I would allow the elderly patient to leave this earth a little bit ealrier.

Suicide is a completely selfish act. Hands down.

I understand that you are the person you are through the struggles and difficulties you can overcome into a more successful person. Whether you are sick or healthy, suicide is murder. If we are supposed to leave this earth when it is God’s will, then what if a suicide is really meant to happen for this person?

My cousin Jennifer decided to end her own life about 4 years ago. Of course I would rather she be alive because she died at such a young age of 22 and had so much to still experience. On the other hand, if she wanted to no longer live, than I accept that. It is her choice, id rather her not have to “suffer” or what she defines as something she cannot possibly for another minute. She had a daughter that was 4 years old, and lost complete custody of Caitlyn. Her boyfriend was a terrible influence, and she became addicted to heroin. And frequently using other drugs. Two of her best friends had been murdered by their boyfriends, and I guess she saw her life spiraling downward and no place to get back up.

No doubt that there was a hint more of grief at her funeral. People feeling responsible, they could have perhaps prevented in some way. But I believe that no one should be able to tell you that it is right or wrong. It will affect the ones that love you, and everyone you touched. You do have the right to want to end your life. Take abortion for instance, if you disagree with getting one, and then don’t get one. Simple as that. But don’t stop others from wanting one; let them do what the want. If that means you think they will go to hell, then let them. They might not see it that way.

I have mixed thoughts when I think of rather taking life should be acceptable or not in our culture. I believe that a person should be able to take there life if they have an unbearable disease. I don’t think it is right if the doctor gives them how long they have to live. In my eyes he is really saying “You have 3 more years to suffer”. I do think that god decides when our time is to go but like the circumstance before that sometimes it is just not fair.

Referring back to the discussion in class, should Juliet killed her self or risked it all and tried to tell the people coming what had happened. In my opinion I don’t think it would have been safe if she didn’t kill herself. The houses have not liked each other for 100 years so what are they chances that this will change. I believe that when you’re young you may think that you will marry your first love but it is not worth dying for. I think she would have survived and eventually gotten herself over Romeo and live to love again.

Suicide is a way for young people to deal with a hardship and making a permanent solution to there it. I believe that when your young and some kids get into relationships they turn it into all there living for. I think that once a person is older than they will be able to get over a hardship and not have to go to the extreme of killing there selves. A kid just needs to takes things one step and a time. If they really need help then they should go to counselor but not end there whole life over one ordeal. They will have there whole life ahead of them to make other relationships and live life. Suicide is not worth it but if a person is going to die and has a disease or condition that is making life intolerable then they should have the right to end there life.

I don’t believe in suicide. I think it’s the easy way out of life’s struggles when those have lost the will to deal with them. Except in cases of terminal illness, I would not come close to encouraging it from anyone. That said, I believe that it is one’s natural born right to control their life as they please. If someone is suicidal, we as a community, city, state, and country should to everything in our capabilities to counsel our fellow citizen. Although suicide is illegal, the law is the last thing that will stop a person from committing the aforementioned crime. If anything it will be the instinctive will to survive or realization of how selfish the act of suicide is.
Suicide is a possible solution to temporary pain. If someone wants to die, I believe that they should be able to if all else fails. If someone is in excruciating pain due to an illness and wants an end to it all, I believe that we are not to keep it from them. If someone is depressed beyond hope or has lost the will to live, they too, like a terminal patient, are in excruciating pain and they too want an end, and we are not to keep it from them either. That would be inhumane on our part. It’s like putting an animal out of its misery… they’re suffering and just want the pain to end. Although we categorize suicide justification as right the case of the terminally ill and wrong in the case of the helplessly depressed, we need to realize that both are in pain and neither desire to live (in situations).
I hope that made sense…. I’m really tired.

After watching, The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, when the obvious sadness and initial shock wore off, my first thought was: I can’t believe that Jonny Kennedy had to live with this horrible disease for 36 years; I would have committed suicide before I was 10. I am a Christian; I have a strong faith in God but the pain would have been unbearable and life too hard. I can’t honestly say that I believe suicide is wrong when I haven’t been through a tragic enough circumstance that would make me want to do it.

Unfortunately or fortunately for me, I have a brain that is always thinking about the other side of the argument which means that my opinions are constantly changing. I believe that the government shouldn’t be able to tell a person that he/she can’t commit suicide. If a person decides that have nothing to live for and wants to take their own life – it’s their life, let them do it. We live in America – the land of choice and the government shouldn’t be able to take that choice away. However if my best friend decided that she wanted to commit suicide I would want the police to step in and stop her. If the person was someone I loved I would call the police hoping they would stop would be able to handcuff and get them some help. So I can see the point of view from a person who wants their rights and a person that is affected by a loved one taking their life.

One might ask: aren’t murder and suicide they same thing? What is the difference between murder and suicide? I can see Cheryl rolling her eyes but it is a person’s choice to commit suicide and not a person’s choice to be murdered. Whenever someone has committed suicide all everyone says is “they took their own life”. It is their life to take at their hand if they want to, not at the hand of some psycho killer. As a Christian, I do believe that God gave us life but he also gave us free will. He gave people the free will not to believe in Him and he gave us the free will to disobey his command of not committing suicide.

I see suicide as the easy way out. When life is hard, your walls come crashing down, and you feel like you are all alone in this world all you want to do get away from this life. Some have panic attacks; some run away from home, others choose to take their life. I know that God has a great plan for me – Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” I know a good future lies ahead of me (if only I can pass AP Bio :) ). Others, however, might not believe in God and therefore that He doesn’t have a great plan for them. Christian or atheist – suicide is still taking your life at one bad moment in your life; you have so many more moments in your life that committing suicide seems like a waste. There are going to be tough times in everyone’s life and it is their choice of what to do when that happens that makes them unique. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: if you are going through hell, keep going.

No matter if you are young or old, sick or healthy suicide is suicide. It is taking your life away when you still have a chance of spending one more day with your family and friends. Even if you don’t have any friends or family and that is why a person commits suicide it is still one more day to take a stand - join a club, make new friends, ask a coworker out. A day holds so many possibilities and if a person wanted to commit suicide that is what I would tell them: wait one more, then a week, and then a month and before you know it your life has turned around.

So in short, I have no idea if suicide is right or wrong, if the government should get involved or not, I just know that it is unnecessary.

God doesn’t own my life; I own my life. I am my own person. I make my own choices and I have the free will to act upon those choices should I so choose.

And yet, I believe that suicide is a very permanent solution to a sometimes temporary problem—sometimes the issues we most obsess over are the most transitory. Everyone deals with times of depression, times of sickness, times where life doesn’t seem worth it. But it is the power of one’s will to hold on, to survive for those around you, for those you love and who love you in return that defines life and the reason to live. Suicide is cowardice. It is running away instead of facing your demons, and how can you ever be rid of something until you meet it head on and simply choose to walk past it?

When a human being suffers from depression and falls into a void where life loses its luster and fades, suicide transitions into an arena of morals and of values. It is not right to allow a young girl—so new to life—to snuff out the candle before it even has a chance to illuminate the rest of the path. It is not right to allow her to die before she has even lived. It is our moral duty to help her—to ease her pain but not to ease it through death.

However, I believe it is a person’s right to take their life if they are suffering from mortal sickness—situations in which you suffer terribly before you die. I believe that the government tampers in many issues that fall into a tangled web of gray; simply getting itself ensnared the more it struggles with them. And I believe the government should stay out in cases of extreme sickness, in cases where there is no hope of improvement or of life. If I have bone cancer and I only have six months to live, then I will decide if I want the relief of death. It is my body. It is my choice. And personally, I would choose death’s release.

And no one, no one has the right to stop me. If there is a God, then he gave us personal freedom along with life. Both of these belong to us. We make our choices and live the best we can. But there is nothing in the Bible that says we must endure the last six months of life with bone cancer. Why not go peacefully with loved ones surrounding you, supporting you. What is six more months of life if we must endure so much pain only to finally die? There is nothing in the Bible that says we must suffer, and if there is, then the Bible is wrong. We suffer through life, we suffer through emotions, we suffer through immeasurable pain and depression, but nothing can prevent the inevitable. We all die. Nothing is constant in life except for death and taxes, and neither is temporary.

If God gave me free will, then I will choose how I die should it suit the situation and myself. We have the power of choice and choice is powerless unless you act upon it.

My life belongs to no one but me.

Suicide can be selfish, or a means to end painful suffering. The rebellious teenager who just broke up with her boyfriend of two years and pretends to not see a reason to keep living, Thats selfish. Thats spiteful. If she kills herself, it will be the ultimate revenge towards her ex. But does she have the right to do so? Absolutely. She owns her life, Not god, jesus, or the Government. It would be a full and complete waste, an awful thing to do, but she does have the right.

A miserable, suffering cancer patient, a patient with EB, or even a patient with severe brain damage that is a vegtable, has the same full and complete right to commit suicide. It would not be selfish. It would not be spiteful. However, there are steps that should be followed in order to warn the family. It is the patient's choice, and therefore the family should in response, listen and understand the patient's viewpoint openly. It is not the best way to leave the world, even if you are sick with a horrible disease, by surprising your family and friends. It may be that the family will be in complete support of the patient's desire for a little extra morphine. Sometimes it is harder to watch a family member suffer through such difficult times without hope, so very close to the end. Suicide may be the better option. And even if suicide is selfish, don't these people deserve a little selfishness after suffering for so long?

The vegetable: This poor person has irreversible brain damage, little to no brain function, and not even a chance of hope themselves. How awful would it be to live that way? And not only is this person using valuable resources that could go to a better cause, but they are suffering, hanging on by only a thread that is breakable only by physician or family assisted suicide. If it was me on that bed, I would hope that my family would pull the plug and then donate my organs, and possessions to a greater cause.

I don't believe in a god, so it is pointless for me to wait for a cue to die. Suicide is my decision, my life. It should not be a legal crime, or a moral one.

Idealistically, I believe suicide is wrong no matter how you look at it. I don’t mean to be harsh, but from my religious beliefs, I believe that suicide is never an honorable way to end your life.
I believe that we all have souls that belong to God. When we kill ourselves, we are killing our very souls with no opportunity to turn around and ask God for forgiveness one last time. God gave us life, so how could we take his gift and throw it away as if it could be replaced at a moment’s notice? The idea that we live our own lives and could do anything we want with them is preposterous. This way if thinking is based on an abundance of pride and the belief that one’s own mind is the most superior tool on this earth while everyone else is wrong.

I believe that all people do not intrinsically have the best judgment. Just look around at all the murders, robberies, and other acts of deviance on the news each and every day. Humans are easily tempted and do not often strike a fair balance between the impulses of their emotions and their logic. While I cannot speak from the experience of knowing someone who has taken their own life, I feel that when someone is contemplating suicide, they are usually not in their normal state. When someone is feeling extremely sad and depressed, they make desperate decisions that are, in no way, reflective of the right path to take. But when you are in a state of desperate emotion, you can’t think logically, so I would think that without someone standing right there, convincing you otherwise, it would be very hard to stop yourself.

I also do not think it is acceptable for an ill patient to take their own life either. Yes, they may be suffering from great pain but that is nothing compared to the pain you would put your friends and family in as well as the pain of never being able to reach heaven. Life is hard, but I believe we must endure what God gives us, as there are greater rewards in heaven for those who persevere.

While I firmly stand against suicide-any kind of suicide- I empathize with those who have lost loved ones. I understand how when one is under quite a bit of stress and pressure, one thing can lead to another so quickly that you do even have time to think things through. But while we are not in a state overwhelmed by emotion, I believe that we should avoid the scourge of suicide to the best of all of our abilities.

Suicide is death at ones own consent. It is a choice...a complete exercise of free will. Morally, how can an observer view the situation and know exactly what the other person was thinking and feeling before they took their life? Every individual has to decide for themselves whether life is worth living, worth living to the fullest, and worth suffering through in hope of finding a good moment, love or fulfillment. The young, middle aged and old all suffer from emotional turmoil, societal pressures and depression. Despite the difference in age, why should any life be considered more valuable than another?

I believe that people are placed in the world to accomplish something. Whatever it may be is another piece to the circle of life. At a certain point, we all have to die. Who is to decide how or when we perish? If I knew how I was going to die, and if I understood that I would be forced through immeasureable amounts of pain, I would take my own life before I was forced to endure that. For instance, an elderly person is told they are going to die of terminal cancer, treatments will be necessary and painful, and inevitably life until death will be painful. How can you blame them for being unwilling to die in agony? They should be permitted to take hold of their own lives and meet their end as they choose. For those of you that believe this to be cowardly or un-Godly, let me give you an example more close to home. You somehow manage to see into your future and find out that you are going to be kidnapped, tortured and then brutally murdered in X number of days. Would you sit back and wait for this painful end to occur, just so people do not think you to be cowardly or go against your religion, and allow yourself to be degraded and violated before death. If God exists, he sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins and save us. He suffered so that we wouldn't have to. Why then, should the terminally ill be forced through unnecessary pain when they shouldn't have to.

It is all individual choice; it is all circumstantial; it is all a "blessing" of free will. There are of course circumstances where suicide is, in my opinion, a complete waste of life. If you are "blessed" with life what right do you have to throw it away because of one toil, obstacle or downfall in your life? People who enjoy life have it stripped from them everyday...some people who still have a strong desire to live die. Why would you shortchange your life, cash in early, for a trivial dilemma that means nothing in the long run? At times suicide is a selfish and inconsiderate act, taking the happiness out of the lives of loved ones, and hurting those that care about you the most. On the other hand, is living a life that you do not believe is worth living just a waste in itself? I have thought about death, how I would prefer to die, and even thought about what difference it would make if it occured today. The thing is, whenever something like this is contemplated, the time that I have left still holds meaning and value to me that I would not throw away.

This issue is circumstancial in my opinion. As far as quitting via suicide, it is circumstantial. How brave do you have to be to willingly take your own life? Does this act not require courage? Is there a complete lack of faith? Maybe some of the accusations against those that took their lives is skewed in the wrong direction. Just some food for thought.

Suicide is unquestionably an elusive topic—one in which a single definitive answer cannot be found in my opinion. Countless scenarios arise; we can never foresee all of the situations in which suicide becomes an option. Yet, as a core belief, I feel that there are indeed circumstances in which suicide is an answer. But at the same time, I must agree that suicide is often a permanent solution to a temporary problem. When life seems as if it is not worth living another second or prolonging the pain another day, we must ask ourselves if it is only temporary. Perhaps we don’t see our problems as temporary; unable to gaze beyond the clouded vision which depression can impart upon people. However, sometimes they are permanent, such as advanced bone marrow cancer or other diseases in which the patient seems only a burden and feels no joy in life.

Yet there is a stark contrast between the leukemia patient or the brain-dead individual and the teenager who sees no other way out than to take their own life. It really truly saddens me to think that for some, their life has become so tumultuous or unbearable that they can envision no other solution than the most permanent one which leaves loved ones wondering why, or feeling as if they could have done something, anything to keep them within the realms of this world.

In AP English the other day, we watched a film about a boy who had a rare disease in which his skin lacked the capacity to cling to his body & would blister or bruise at the slightest touch. He had to wear bandages all the time literally, lived in a wheelchair, and had the skin close up over his hands because they were so often raw. At one point in the film, there was a scene in which he was depicted during a bandage change that occurred about once every week. During this bandage change, his skin would literally be peeled off in spots with the bandage and the pain was unimaginable. Just sitting there in my chair, I was so thankful I could never envision pain like that ever, let alone once a week. At the end of the film, the boy (who had an incredibly positive attitude by the way) died. Though he had accomplished many dreams such as skydiving, he and his mother admitted that had she been given the option of abortion, she would have taken it prior to his birth. This made me really think; if I had been the boy Johnny, I would have do doubt committed suicide—there is no question about it.

Life then is just not worth living if suffering takes the joy out of it for you and others. Seeing people in that much pain is nearly as bad as experiencing it firsthand, and I would rather see my loved ones go quickly than die a prolonged painful death for the sake of authenticity. But who is to decide whether the person about to commit suicide is of sound mind and will not overcome their disease/problem? We have no way of knowing, yet one thing is clear for myself: There are situations in which suicide is a viable and preferable option.