Suicide and Ethics

We all understand our rights as human beings. We can choose what we want to wear, how we act, what we want to spend the rest of our lives doing. As Americans, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But what happens when the fruit of these rights is the decision to take our own lives? In many countries, it’s considered an act of utmost bravery to commit suicide. Here in America, land of the free, it’s a criminal offense. First degree murder to anyone who has the pity or compassion to help. Attempted murder if it fails. So where do we draw the line? Where do our rights to our lives end and where does the law take over? It’s a tricky subject; one that varies from person to person and belief system to belief system. What do I believe? Well, it’s a little tougher than just a yes or a no.

As most of you know by now, I’m strongly Christian and my religion does often effect my decisions and my beliefs. To me, all life is a gift. True, some are not as easy or glamorous as others and some are just plain tough for a time. But I feel that life is still something to be valued and treasured. Morally, I think that suicide is one of the worst things a person can do. In that sense, I don’t believe it is ever acceptable. I believe God gives us challenges and it’s our job to work within those restrictions or difficulties. However, I do understand that there are viewpoints other than my own. Truthfully, I feel that a person’s life is theirs, and they can do exactly what they like with it. I don’t think you can tell someone what is or is not ethical, what they should believe, or anything about what they “should” do or be. Your life is yours. Plain and simple. The only thing that we can do is create laws that serve as a guideline for what is and is not societally acceptable. Obviously, taking another’s life in cold blood is unacceptable. I also don’t believe you can do anything that infringes on someone else’s ability to decide for themselves or find their own happiness. Typical American philosophy, right? I guess not. To put it in simpler terms, I find suicide to be something that conflicts with my personal beliefs. But they’re just that, mine. Other people are entitled to their own beliefs and the government shouldn’t be able to interfere so long as it does not violate another person’s rights or freedoms. It hardly makes sense to allow us to live our lives as we wish, but strip us of the right to end it when and how we choose.

However, I feel that, because it is such an obviously permanent and drastic measure, restrictions are necessary. I think that age is a factor. It should not be permissible if you are under the age of 18. Now, undoubtedly, this age is still very young. But if you think about it, this is the very same age at which teens can opt to join the army. Now, many will argue that this is completely different, that those men and women are out there fighting to defend the country. (I would like to say that I am, in no way, trying undermine the sacrifice of our serving men and women. I think that it is one of the most honorable things you can do with your life and I understand that it is a tremendous sacrifice and risk) But when you think about it, we are still giving them the ability to choose what they want for their lives, knowing they may not make it back. If our teens can decide to risk their lives on a field of warfare and bloodshed, why can they not decide to end them? I also believe the person needs to be able to demonstrate a sound state of mind and they need to have expressed a desire to end their life for a time before they do. Not necessarily a suicide watch. But I feel that too many people do utilize it as, like Phil Donahue said, “A permanent solution to a temporary problem”. I think it’s wrong in all sense for a young man or woman to put an end to their life for reasons such as “my girlfriend/boyfriend broke up with me”. But I think in cases similar to that of Chris Hill, it is understandable. He made an attempt to continue on with his life. He at least tried to work with the cards he was dealt. He just felt it wasn’t worth living. And while I may not agree with his choice, I fully understand and respect the fact that it was his life and he had the ability to do with it what he chose. I feel the government should, too.

So while I cannot condone suicide, I understand that there are people who feel that it is a viable option. I choose to respect life and I hold it as the greatest gift we are ever going to receive. But I feel that people have the right to do with their lives what they choose. And while regulations need to be put in place due to the severity of this decision, I think it is ultimately up to the person, not the government or the law.

You have just broken up with your girlfriend. She left you in ruins and broke your heart, tearing it in to little pieces. Now what do you do? You dated her for a year, truly cared for her and loved her. Maybe you thought she was the one but now she’s gone forever leaving you to ask the same question that was replaying in your mind earlier; now what do you do?

“Oh I can’t live without her, I need her”
“She was my everything!”
You just keep contemplating over and over again that you need her in your life and will kill yourself if you are not with her.

Days later, your family discovers your body, laying on the ground with a gun by your head with blood oozing out and a will, explaining what the cause of your death was and how you believe death is the best answer to your solution so you wouldn’t have to live each day thinking about the one you love. Would suicide be the right answer in your mind? Do you believe that killing yourself is better than maybe trying to overcome that problem and trying to treat it even if you had help along the side?

I believe that if a person wants to take his/her own life, they can. It is their own life and I am not going to stop them. If they truly believe death is the only option to make happy and to forget about their situation, go ahead but I don’t think that it is necessary. There will be plenty of help and support coming from family and friends who can help that individual out.

At a young age, just starting your life at 18, I believe it is ridiculous for someone to go ahead and end their life. Their life has barely started so why end it abruptly. Good things will come and go as well as bad things and you will have to learn to go through it, learn from your mistakes because that is what life is about. Now on the other side for a person who is old, do you still want to kill yourself? It is still up to you. You think about it because you feel weak and can’t really do anything because after all you are old, but what about your family? Wouldn’t you miss seeing them on a daily basis, seeing your grandchildren grow up and hopefully graduating elementary school, middle school, high school and then college? Aren’t you curious of how they will turn out to be when they grow up to be adults?

You are living your life, enjoying it with everything going good. You have a lovely wife who cares about you and kids you can spend time with. You have a good job with a great income but the most important thing you are healthy. Do you still want to end your life?
In my opinion, I think it would be entirely ridiculous to even think about suicide. Like it would not even be a question to take time to answer it in my head; a complete waste of time in my opinion even if the thought can only last about 30 seconds or so depending on if you are really thinking about. On the other hand of the argument, you are sick. Okay, now that’s a different situation. In my opinion, I believe suicide in many situations can be treated differently. I mean like if you are sick in the hospital but still can survive, why would anyone want to go ahead kill and themselves if they know they can still outweigh their options? If someone is in a vegetative state, just able to survive on life support, there is not really a reason to let them live on because they are suffering by far worst then if they were in heaven. At least in heaven, they can rest in peace.

Suicide can be one of the worst ways a friend, family members and others can experience. As I said before that if a person wants to end their life, they may. It is their decision and if they believe that if that is the only option that makes them happy, who’s going to try to stop them? It is pretty easy for someone to kill themselves; they can drown themselves, jump off a building, go into the kitchen and grab a knife and stick it in their chest but the question is if it is the right choice? Why should we let the government tell us what to do? It’s our life isn’t it? Let us speak what is on our mind, let us do what we feel is right in our life. The government is not living our life so let us live it. Now it may sound like I want to kill myself; I don’t. All I am saying is that it is entirely up to the individual to how they want to end the life they live but I just don’t think that is necessary because you can overcome it.

A mother walks to the pink floral desk against the wall of her sixteen year old daughter’s room and notices a white piece of paper positioned neatly in the middle. The room is still except for the red flash of the clock projecting the time, 4:35 p.m. As she reads each word written on the page she can feel her heart beat faster and faster. A cold sweat emerges from her forehead and her chest begins to heave in and out as if her lungs are frantically running out of breath. She reaches the end of the note and stares at the paper into a white abyss. It feels as if time has stood still as she reads and rereads the note three more times. Her daughter has decided to kill herself. She searches every inch of the paper for a hint of where her daughter could be but finds only the words she has already burned into her brain. The first thought that races into her mind: My baby is never coming back home.

Is suicide a crime committed against one’s self and family? Or is it a necessary escape from a life filled with pain and torture?

As human beings we all have the right to decide for ourselves whether we are going to live another day or die as we so choose. We have been given the gift of freewill and though many people take it for granted, there are still some that utilize this gift to the greatest extent. In many cultures the act of taking one’s own life is considered an honorable way to die for their beliefs. In others, it is a despicable and cowardly way to escape the ills of everyday life and is considered the worst offense a person can commit. In our Judeo-Christian culture this right is punishable by law and rarely ever considered honorable. Thankfully, however, freewill gives us the choice to decide for ourselves whether or not suicide is wrong.

Personally, I find it hard to decide whether or not suicide is wrong because I tend to see the reasoning in both sides of the argument. I can see how it could be one’s last chance at an ounce of happiness but I can also imagine the impact it has on family members and close friends. I believe the decision of whether suicide is a crime or not depends on each individual’s story.

For those that have lived a fulfilled live but seem to find themselves at the end of that happiness, such as Chris Hill, I can see where suicide would be a last hope for joy. I believe that suicide is permissible only in extreme cases regardless of the ripple effect it has on loved ones. Were I merely a “head on a bed” I know for a fact that I would not want to carry on as a constant burden to those I loved. Life is simply not meant to be lived in stagnantly.

Suicide affects every person in one’s life and should not be taken lightly. I cannot honestly say for sure whether or not suicide is wrong but I do know that it causes immense amount of pain to many people. For anyone considering taking their own life I wish that they would think long and hard about the decision. In some cases, life will never get better, however I others the pain will pass and life can be lived happily again. All I know is that suicide is up to each individual and there is no way our culture or the government can take that right away.

I'm sorry. I cannot write a long blog like the rest of you. What I have to say is simple and this subject is more painful to me than most of you will ever know. And pray that it stays that way.

I've seen a mother whose son has committed suicide. I never want to see another. I've lost someone I loved dearly to suicide. It was one of the most painful things I have ever experienced. I have a mother whose daughter has attempted suicide. It is not something any person should ever have to experience. Life, however bitter, is worth living. Even if you are a head on a bed, never think that you are alone. There are an infinite number of souls in this universe and no matter how lonely you may feel, you will always attract a kindred spirit. It may not be that day, or that month, or that year, or even that decade, but the possibility that you might touch another life deeply and profoundly is so high that it is not even a possibility, it is a certainty. Suicide, no matter how justified in your own eyes, is never the right decision.

Suicide is the most selfish act one can commit. How is suicide selfish? Because it affects everybody else around you in the most negative way, and you get out of living life the easy way. But that begs the question: what in life is ever easy? Dealing with emotions, peers, school, peer pressure, family, life, homework, the opposite sex (hardest one for most of us)… is not only what is typical of being human, but also being able to deal with those things successfully is a sign of maturity and a growth to mental adulthood. In my opinion, suicide is an inherent evil that in almost all cases is morally wrong. Or, as Phil Donahue put it, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem”.

The second highest cause for death for teenagers, behind car accidents, is suicide. Why? The teenage years are difficult and ripe with family problems, school problems, emotional problems, peer problems, and anything else you can think of. But it is our hormones that skew our interpretations of these events. Not getting a date to prom or breaking up with a girlfriend might seem like the end of the world, but in a few days or a few weeks, we realize that maybe it wasn’t so bad. Yet, if you attempted and succeeded to kill yourself because you couldn’t bare the thought of having to live like this, you wouldn’t be alive in a couple of weeks find out that everything turned out ok. So what is the conclusion, for this example especially? Killing yourself would be stupid, in fact, it would be the stupidest thing you have ever done with your life, because there is nothing dumber you can do with your life than killing yourself.

Many of us talk about suicide in the abstract simply because that is the only way we can talk about it, but let me provide an example with my friend. Before you get worried, no, she didn’t commit suicide; the issue isn’t that personal with me. But she didn’t have the best life a year or so ago. Her mom beat her, she had issues with boyfriends, and she didn’t have the best of friends to work through it. She made it out of those difficult times, not by killing herself, but rather by keeping a positive attitude, and staying strong. And I really think that she is extremely special and a gifted person for putting up with these things to the degree that she did. Is her life perfect now? No. Better? Maybe a little. Was it easy? No, but I can ask, what in life ever is?

So if suicide is so terrible for healthy people, what about the sick? Here’s my opinion: the only time that suicide would ever be a legitimate option is if the person in question is in huge, unbearable pain, and death would bring a reprieve for a death that is already inevitable. If you have 6 months to life, and you aren’t be tortured by the pain of your illness, then use those last 6 months and enjoy life while you still can. What about in the case of Chris Hill, the man who had the perfect life, only to suffer a spinal injury and be paralyzed from the shoulders down? Sure, his quality of life went down the hole, but he should be lucky he even had a life left to live. Being handicapped could cause someone that was perfectly healthy to lose faith, but there are some people that have never known another fate. And what do they do? They adapt and try to live the best they can. I’m not saying it would have been easy for Chris to accept his new reality, but it would have been possible, and committing suicide was probably the wrong choice.

I know that some people will say, “It’s their body, so let them do what they want.” If they want to commit suicide, who is going to stop them? I believe that the police should. You may say that the police have no business in those affairs, but the police are trying to keep everybody safe as best as they can. If a person is dumb enough to try to commit suicide, they are a danger to themselves, and probably aren’t in the best state of mind. If they still try to kill themselves, strap them down, lock them up, and keep them confined for a little bit. Hopefully sooner or later they will realize the mistake that they were prevented from making, and be thankful for it.

Suicide is, in itself, a gray area. Only in a tragic love story, such as “Romeo and Juliet”, can a teenage suicide be considered beautiful at all. In real life however, could Juliet have eventually healed from the wound in her heart left by her dear Romeo? Of course! Sure, she may never love the same way again, but her death is, in the words of Phil Donahue, “a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” Many people, such as Juliet, endure such heartache that it feels as though they cannot go on; but as stated….MANY people endure it everyday. Although many stuggle through the pain, some decide that life is no longer worth living. Perhaps this is the best decision for them…perhaps that one thing was the last good thing in their life, and now its gone. It is a tragedy in my mind to give up one’s life in such a manner.

However, when a person has lived their life, they have accomplishments, and a clear understanding of the very permanent decision they are making…why not? There is obviously a good reason to end a successful life, whether it be health or not wanting to live without a loved one. The man who tried to end his life along with his sick wife was completely justified in my opinion. Sure, it is not okay to kill another human, but she was sick and would likely have made a similar decision; he was only trying to relieve her and himself of the continual pain. Similarly to Chris Hill, I am 99.999999% sure that I would also choose to end my life in the case that I became so devastatingly disabled. To me, the decision to commit suicide should be made in a sound mind of someone that loved life and is happy to move to the next life. Someone who has not enjoyed life and its many experiences has not really lived a life and cannot rightly decide that it is not worth living.

Suicide is such a complicated question. The article we read in class about the paraplegic showed one side; the side of the suicidal person. His article actually convinced me that his life was his and he the right to make the decision to end it. His reasons for not wanting to live were understandable and he made a very good argument. Everything he had lived for was gone to him. But then he brought up the point about his family and friends and how he hoped that they could move on soon after his death. This is the part that really caught my attention.

I don’t really know where I stand on suicide. I do believe that each person has the right to their own life and to make decisions regarding it. On the other hand, I do realize the impact the death will have on loved ones. Any death, regardless the cause, is tragic. So what makes suicide different? Nothing. The pain among loved ones will still be great.

I knew someone that had tried to commit suicide by attempting to overdose on sleeping pills. When I got the call that that person was in the hospital, I immediately began crying. It was the most horrible feeling in the world. I loved this person so much and to find out that the person had tried to commit suicide scared and worried me. I had almost lost someone so important to me, and so suddenly. To think that I had almost never been able to see that person again was heart wrenching. I remember the receiving the call and trying to hold back the tears as I heard the news. I couldn’t even say anything in response in fear the tears would rush out. I remember hanging up and jumping into a hot shower to bawl my eyes out. It was fear of the unknown and the panic that I had almost lost someone I loved so much. It was a scary feeling. But I’m so grateful that everything is better now. I can only imagine the pain that those who actually lose someone feel.

I think most times people say that others have a right to commit suicide because each person has the right to their own life and to do with it what they choose. I pretty much agree with this also. Then I remember that someone close to me tried to end their own life. People don’t realize the situation until it hits home and directly affects them. So what if someone in China committed suicide yesterday? It was their life wasn’t it? But what if it was your mom or best friend? Then would it be the same? I’m going to guess that you wouldn’t think so because your mom or best friend is someone very close to you. It would be painful to lose them and definitely scar your life.

Suicide is a topic that should not be taken lightly. It doesn’t only affect the suicidal person, but everyone they love and know.

I believe that every person has control over his or her own life. With this control, comes responsibility. Every person’s actions are also his or her responsibility. So, I think that if a person is willing to ingest poison, jump off of a building or shoot a bullet into their head, they have obviously thought about doing this for some time. Most people feel uncomfortable having to place a knife right up against to their neck or putting a gun up to their own head. Think about going one step further and actually cutting your own throat or pulling the trigger. It takes a very determined person to perform these actions without much hesitation.

If a person is truly unhappy with their life to the extent that they feel they have nothing else to live for and their existence places a burden on everyone around them, then they have a good reason to commit suicide. However, I also believe that they should think over their decision for at least a month and talk to family and friends about what to do with their situation. Spending time with family and friends, the people you live for, may change a person who potentially wants to commit suicide. If this still does not change their mind to kill themselves, then they should follow through with their decision because they obviously do not appreciate the life they were given.

Many human beings all over the world struggle to live. Babies die in the arms of their parents because they could not afford a vaccination to cure it, young children accidentally poison themselves with medications and suffer from overdose almost killing themselves, cancer patients going through chemotherapy on the brink of death, these are all instances of the struggle for live. The gift of life is very difficult to give yet easy to take away. Even considering suicide as an option to a problem shows a lack of appreciation for life and all of its gifts. So, if a person is willing to simply throw away their life because they have not learnt the value of life and do not appreciate it, they should not be stopped from solving all their problems.

Suicide affects those around you more than it does to the person who committed it. Depending on the situation, suicide is either a very selfish decision or a very selfless one. A ninety seven year old man paralyzed from the neck down with Alzheimer’s, “a head on a bed,” unable to bathe or even feed himself costs his family thousands every month to keep him alive. He does not remember his own family due to his condition and as a result does not talk to them. Since he does not want to continue as a head on a bed, he decides to give the order to pull the plug and end his life. This is a selfless action on his part because his life is miserable and he is placing unnecessary burden on his own family, who he does not even remember. On the other hand, a teenager depressed over a broken relationship, believing there is nothing to live for in her life, considers committing suicide. This consideration shows her selfishness. Imagine her parent’s reaction when they find their daughter’s corpse lying on her bloodstained bed with a knife in one hand and a note in the other. If she is willing to put her parents through this horrifying experience, it is the most selfish thing she could ever do to them.

I believe that other people should not be able to decide whether a person can commit suicide or not. The net now located underneath the Golden Gate Bridge to catch people who attempt to commit suicide is a complete waste of the time and money spent to put into it. Like I said before, if a person does not appreciate the life they were given and wants to commit suicide; let them. If they think their life is so painfully unbearable that death is the only option, then they have convinced themselves that they are right in seeking death and their actions should not be stopped. Even though it is the most selfish thing they could do to their family and friends, it is their life and their decision to make. Every person has control over his or her own life and can do whatever they want with it.

The comedian George Carlin once said, "There are two possibilities in this universe. Either we have 1. Unlimited Freedom or 2. Absolutely no Freedom. I believe we have Unlimited Freedom." I fanatically agree with this statement because ultimately, it is us who make all the choices and decisions in our own lives (except for the whole being-aborted-as-an-embryo-thing but that's another story). I believe that every individual truly exists in the form of a spirit using a physical body to interact with others. I also believe in reincarnation (despite these beliefs, I am not a Buddhist as I am far too lazy to even think about becoming one). Anyway, due to my belief in reincarnation, my theory is that people have Infinite Control over their own actions. Thus, suicide will only succeed in giving someone another chance at the Wheel of Life (quite similar to the Wheel of Fortune), whether or not they may end up in a better situation in their next life is entirely unknown.

I am fortunate enough to know absolutely nobody who has even considered committing suicide. While this may limit my authority on this subject due to my lack of experience, I would like to point out that Obama lacks significant experience but is doing very well in the polls anyway. This brings me to my next topic: The Media's Portrayal of Suicide. Except by media, I mean Hollywood's portrayal of suicide. We see it all the time in movies, the protagonists must never allow the villain to kill them, they must always deny them that honor, usually by going out in a "Blaze of Glory" that consists of fighting off a surprisingly large number of thugs despite being severely and fatally wounded. Speaking of movies by the way, I once saw this movie called The Mist, in it, the main characters were fleeing from an invasion of aliens from another dimension when their vehicle runs out of gas. Instead of facing the monsters, the hero decides to take the "Merciful Way" and use his gun to kill all the survivors sparing them from a gruesome and painful death. He then tries to turn the gun on himself but finds it to be devoid of ammunition. A few moments later the fog clears and the U.S. Army appears with a group of survivors. Had he waited, all of them could have been saved, but instead he chose "The Quick Way Out" and assisted in their suicides.

Likewise, life is a game of dice. Sometimes, you get really good luck, other times, it would seem as if the dice had just screwed you over multiple times. Why give up? Why stop playing the Game of Life simply because you experienced a snag? Does that not make you a sore loser? With technological trends these days, you could actually just sign up for some experimental treatment that could either grant your wish for death or cure at least some part of your unfortunate affliction. Either way, it will pave the road for scientific research in many ways. After all, if a patient such as Chris Hill has come to the conclusion that life is not worth living and that they have nothing to lose, what harm could an experimental treatment be? Your last moments of life could be spent improving research that could save others from ever having to even consider suicide.

Speaking of Chris HIll, I found his essay to be very intriguing. He acknowledged that he had lived life to the fullest and would have no regrets in death. The way his letter was written, I believe he was of very stable mind and deserved his right to die. He acknowledged the impact of his death on his loved ones or anyone he knew and made efforts to incorporate his last will and testament into this letter to soften the blow of his death. However, judging from the fact that he was able to use his arms, he had a much better situation than most people with his condition. Second, it would seem that he is about middle-aged. This gives him plenty of time left to spend with his friends and loved ones; given his description of his life, I doubt he is a loner. Why did he choose not to remain with those who care for him? He may see himself as a burden but does he not know that his death will be an even heavier burden on the hearts of all those he knows and loves?

On the other hand, if someone is leading an unproductive life, has no friends or family, and leads a really depressing life, then I have no choice but to shove this person into a youth group or force him into community service so that he can establish some form of self-esteem when he sees that life is not about how many limbs you can move, but by how much happiness you instill in others. Suicidal patients have missed the entire purpose of life: To have fun. Life is really all about fun and games, our society goes and screws it all up by implementing the ever so imposing Career System. Really now? People like Henry David Thoreau would have been classified as homeless and useless to the community had he not written books about his "experiences" with nature reminiscent of an Acid Trip. Ultimately, there is no way to know whether or not someone is of sound enough mind to decide that they want to end their lives but those who are, truly deserve their right to die.

First and foremost: Although I cannot always understand why people decide to kill themselves,I respect anyone’s decision to take their own life. Nobody owns their life except them, and I feel it it is not my place to judge whether their decision is right or wrong. The only time I would not respect someone’s decision to commit suicide is if they had a family or some other depending on them. If that’s the case then they should tell those people before they do kill themselves and explain why they are doing it. I get a tad angry when I hear people say that suicide is cowardice. As Chris Hill wrote in his own suicide note, “…it takes an enormous amount of courage to commit suicide”. To willingly step into the darkness of death and the question of what lies beyond is no act of cowardice; to understand that the consequences of his or her actions will eliminate the surety of tomorrow and to still go though with it takes definite nerve.

The dramatic increase in life saving technologies in medicine has effectively silenced the rights and voice of the patient. I feel that the current law in California obstructs the right of the people to decide how they choose to live their life (or in this case, how they do not want to live their life). If a person feels their life has been reduced to indefinite pain and suffering, who are we to tell them to “grin and bear it”? It is condescending and insensitive to that particular person. If we were in their position, would we be as persevering?

As for teenage suicide, I am not as adamant, but still nonetheless, respectful of choice that is made. Whenever I hear about teenage suicide, I cannot help but think that it was probably an overreaction to a trivial thing. As a teenager, I can honestly say that we don’t always make the best decisions. It has been scientifically proven that the adolescent brain’s region for decision making is underdeveloped and does not mature till mid life. That combined with the raging myriad of intense emotion, formally known as hormones, leads to anything but good choices. And for a teenager, a ticking time bomb of angst, to make the decision of life and death seems a bit silly. Then again, I have no right to assume that the emotional pain (which may have been brought about by a number of very real and emotionally scarring circumstances other than heartache) that someone may have decided to take their life over.

But sometimes I wonder: how many people who, half way through a suicide, wish they could decide differently? How many jumpers fall half way off a building and suddenly wish that gravity would make an exception for them so they could re examine the value of their life? Would Romeo and Juliet still have killed themselves if they had a long sober reflection of their life? When I ask myself these questions, I start to think that perhaps lawful interference with suicide isn’t such a bad thing. It gives people time to weigh the pros and cons after the throngs of emotion have left them.

Bottom line: I think that people who want to commit suicide, whether they are young or old, should have the right to do so. But before they do they should be forced to reflect on their life, thus ensuring that no brash decision is made. Ultimately, it is their choice, not ours.

Suicide to me will always be wrong but sometimes understandable. For example a girl and a guy have been together since high school, they went to the same college together, they were even engaged. However suddenly the woman became extremely with rheumatoid arthitis. She was constantly in pain, she was bedridden, she could not perform daily tasks. Her husband had become her nursemaid, and she did not want that for him. So one night she took her life, and she left behind a note stating that she wanted her fiance to move on and be happy. In situations like these as well as Chris Hill's situation I understant why the people took their own lives. Depending on the situation I doubt I will ever see it as right, but I will understand.

However say this man reads his fiance's suicide note that states "I want you to move on and be happy?" Yes he will be depressed. Yes, he will think theres no one in the entire world on his side, but he will push through. In this situation if he commits suicide, it would be an easy way out. An easy solution for his problems. I belive that if a person wants to take their own life let them. It is their life, and therefore I believe it is their right. However my personal opinion is that suicide is wrong. We are born into this world to live and to thrive. We are human beings, it is not natural for people to kill themselves. However also said before, some suicide cases, like Chris Hill, are very understandable.

Wrong...but understandable.

I am fairly religious, but as I have made clear in a blog from last year that I am not a normal , unlike many I don’t believe in their being a life after death. To me not believing in a life after death motivates me to understand that this life is the only chance I’ve got to accomplish all my dreams and to reach a point in my life where I can say to myself that my life was a life well spent.

I can vouch for the fact that everyone has problems, but how could one problem result in a solution such as suicide? To take one’s life is not only as many say a permanent solution to a temporary problem, but it is to me to give up. It is to say that you have no control over your life, and that you can’t have any influence on changing your life around for the better.
To be completely honest here I have thought about suicide once before in my life. When I turned 15 had just changed schools, gotten into a countless amount of fights with my parents, and I was sick every other week; I has felt like I had the stress of the world crashing down on me, and it led to me being an extremely angry kid. One night I had just gotten the one thing in the world, which has even until today been the only thing the helps me to relieve stress, taken away from me. My dad not only took away from me the ability to go to youth group events for the next 2 months, but even put me on strict lockdown at my house, when at that time in my life what I needed more than being grounded was an event to help me to act more behaved. This was the first time I had ever gotten into a fight with my dad, not like a verbal fight or anything, a real fight with him. I’m not going to say why we fought, but I can say that it was something I did to make my mom cry, and I will never go down that road again.

My dad threw a punch at me, and for me I was so angry instincts kind of just took over. I rolled out of the way and threw a kick at him, not only actually hurting him, I had managed to break 5 of his finders as well as sprain his wrist. At was at this moment where I bolted out of my house and spent a decent 6 hours wandering the streets. During those 6 hours I contemplated suicide, that if I hurt others, if I am constantly stressed, that if I am always sick, there really is no point to living. I thought of ways to do it, what I would write about, some horrible letter basically just saying the words “you made me do this.” It wasn’t until about 3 in the morning when my dad had found where I headed to and got out of the car and threw me in the front seat and drove me home. When I got home I saw the look on my mom’s face, the look on my Dad’s, even my sister, who for up until this year of my life has wished that she were an only child. The look on their faces was painful. I had an epiphany that for me to even think about taking my life, to think that my life is only mine and that I have the right to take it is utterly wrong. My life doesn’t just belong to me; it belongs to my parents, every person I have met, that my life means so much to everyone around me. I learned a lesson that night, and that lesson has been right, that even when you feel hopeless, hope is just around the corner; that the night is always darkest right before the dawn.

I now am probably the happiest kid you will ever meet, I have problems but they are miniscule, but I have friends and family to help me out, I have people who care. I once thought that I had lost that.

I know that suicide is wrong. I know that there is nothing that could lead me there ever again. That no problem is worth taking one’s life over, that there is always something, or someone to live for.

Oooo Peter and his lovely little story in the beginning of his blog, how can any one compete with that? I have to write a song to out done that one, but I am no musician, maybe I should write a poem, but I am no poet. So I am just going to listen to some emo songs and get me in the mood to say what is on my mind.

I volunteer in the ER at CMH, I witness a patient that is being handcuffed to the bedside handlebar and has a nurse and police officer look after him I didn’t know the reason at first then later I learned that he was brought in to the ER by the officer due to overdose on pills and cutting, so he is endanger to himself and the people around him and that is why he has to be handcuffed and has people watch him. The sad thing was he is young in his twenties or thirties. I believe suicide not chosen, it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain. Many things that lead to suicide could be depression, coping with grief and loss. Life is like a roller coaster ride there are going to have ups and downs. People who live though the painful, harsh actuality of life become mentally and physically strong because they know what to except.

To take a stand on this topic is truly hard, every human being has the right to their life, and they can make any decision about it even suicide. But for the outsider to say that their decision is act of cowardness and selfishness. Who are they to judge? Have they walked the shoes of those who suicide? Do they know their life story? And yet I think people who is thinking about suicide should take some time to think the consequence of their action, effect on their family, friends, they should take some time think about it before they make their final decision.

In the movie “A walk to remember” the main character Jamie refuses the treatment for her deadly disease instead she decides to live her life to the fullest. Would we put that in the category of suicide? In real life this sort of things happens every day but we usually classify it as act of suicide and say why you would refuse treatment and give away the chance to life. The point I am making here is that you don’t understand why another human being may make a decision such as suicide until you walk their shoe.

The question of suicide being right or wrong is not something that I spend much time thinking about. It’s not something I ever plan to do, nor something I would want anyone close to me to do. My opinion is that we are all in complete control of our bodies, Anything anyone wants to put into, or do to there bodies is up to them. I don’t believe anyone has the right to make that choice for somebody else.

Suicide for the young and old gets difficult at times, Of course no one wants to see a 17 year old kill themselves, but my opinion still stands. The terminally ill on the other hand are completely different. I don’t think it is humane to force someone to suffer for months at a time when they could just go peacefully. It is different for everyone, even if I was in pain I’m sure I would want every last minute to see my family before I die, but that’s my decision. If someone else cant bear the pain any longer, and they are set upon some form of assisted suicide then I think that is perfectly acceptable. Most people say this is wrong to support assisted suicide, because is suggests that its an ok thing to do. I urge anyone who disagrees with it to imagine themselves completely out of control of a horrible situation. And to have everyone watching them, but no one helping them.

If a close friend of mine wanted to commit suicide I would do everything in my power to stop them. I would go as far calling the cops, or even kicking there ass myself if it came down to it (hopefully it’s not Stevo). I would be completely outraged, sad, very emotional, I would want to take there rights away and make decisions for them. Im sure I would feel very guilty, had I caused this? Despite these feelings, I strongly believe that to this would be a complete violation of a persons personal rights. I would be violating there rights, but I would still probably do it because of how strongly I felt. Personal rights that are not from the Bible or the Constitution

Two summers ago in my developmental psychology class, one of the speakers advised all of us to take caution when someone verbally implies suicidal intentions. I silently chuckled at all the times I had “implied such intentions”. The truth is - if someone had done that, I would be locked in a mental hospital at this moment because I sort of meant it a few hours ago. (Well, not really; don’t send me to a mental hospital, I do have college app to fill out.)

The irony in life is that death makes us more noticeable. Instead of being that one more person, when we die, we become that one less person – and that’s when they start swarming about our door. We definitely lose something by not committing suicide. The unfortunate part is obviously that we miss all the attention and sympathy when they actually start noticing.

Of course, on my moral-behalves, I believe there is not always a right time to commit suicide – such as, during college app time. I understand why so many teenagers have committed suicide as I have spent at least half of high school being depressed. Life really sucks. The future is so unknown and how do we know that everything is going to turn out alright? And how will we deal with all the crap in the meantime as we wait for salvation? At the same time, however, I think adolescence should be the one stage of life that suicides don’t happen in. We have potentials, we have ways to change. We haven’t really lived life because clearly, school is no way of living. We should at least see what this world has to offer us before we take that “happy dagger”.

But when it is the old, well, I think the choice is unconditionally theirs. For the old, they have lived, they know life better than most of the world, and they should be granted their ultimate wish. I feel like we are the selfish ones for wanting to keep them alive, even if they suffer in pain. Why trade satisfaction with prolonged empty time? For people like Chris Hill, I cannot do anything but to agree with his decision. He had evaluated all aspects of life, he had explored his options, he had taken account of those he would hurt, and he knew death was what he wanted. We simply cannot ask him more. Often times, the question is not necessarily the value of a life, but the respect for that life. If we have completely lost respect for ourselves and the life that is given to us is nothing to us, there is no point in living; it is only demeaning. Sometimes, we find dignity in suicide.

That ironic truth applies to the suicide bombers and the Kamikazes as well. I suppose they placed the value of their lives on their stubborn faith and loyalty so high that it would be meaningless to anything else. I admire the self-sacrifice they displace; however, the effect of their actions infuriates me because you don’t commit suicide and bring others with you.

Contrary to the common opinion that suicide is cowardice, I also feel that living sometimes is cowardice. We fear death and we do not welcome it. What does it feel like? How would I know? Nobody seems to know this question, and we steer away from the unknown. We are ruled by the chase for pleasure and we are afraid to miss out on tomorrow. Hope hinders accurate perception of hopeless reality even though sometimes it’s better to let go. There is something wrong with the world. There are a lot of things wrong with the world. Maybe the world isn’t made for us. Maybe there is beauty in death, I just have to find it; but you’ll never know.

（Um - yes, I'm pretty demented, but don't kill me.)

Suicide. Few topics are more uncomfortable, at least for me personally. Though I believe that moral absolutes rarely exist, and that circumstances can certainly mitigate wrongdoing, I have a few ideas about the topic.

Suicide, for a young, healthy person is often a terrible thing. It is a loss of what that person could have been, could have done. It is usually, as the cliché goes, a permanent solution to a temporary problem. “Romeo and Juliet” is a perfect example of this. They knew each other for less than half a week. They were young- she about thirteen, he maybe seventeen. They had their entire lives stretching before them. Their deaths were, in short, a waste. I would be more understanding if they had suffered from debilitating depression for most of their young lives, or had some other abominable circumstance affect them.

Suicide for those suffering from a painful, terminal illness is another matter entirely. If I were faced with a horrific and painful end, such as bone cancer, I cannot say whether or not I would consider the alternative. The most pressing issue, in such a situation, would be the suffering of my family and friends. How horrible to end life in pain, in agony. Pain does horrible things to people- They say things that they would not normally even think. How agonizing for my loved ones, to watch me waste away.

I have a great fear of being faced with such a decision.

Who am I to say what I would do, what anyone should do? Though I would like to believe that most people can move on to live a better life, there are no absolutes.

I believe that suicide should be a legal option for those with a bona fide, diagnosed terminal illness. It is the person’s own right to choose when and how their life ends, in those dire circumstances.

Chris Hill is another complex issue. His condition is one I wish on no one, and because of this I respect his choice to end his life. In similar circumstances, again, I cannot say if I would not consider the same actions. His was not a hasty decision, much the opposite. The worst thing, as he acknowledged in his note, would be the suffering of his family. Are they reason enough to live such a life? Again, without having the same experience as Mr. Hill, I cannot say.

I have a very limited personal experience with suicide. When I was very little, my great-aunt Margaret chose to end her life. She was a character, and one of my mother’s very great friends. Before my mother met my father, they would frequently go out to see the opera together. When great aunt Margaret was informed of my mother’s impending marriage, she said “I was afraid something like that might happen.” When I was born, she said that she did favor the idea of a male firstborn to carry on the family name, but after meeting me, she thought I would do just fine. At over ninety, she felt that she had lived a full life, and was ready to make her exit. Though my mother mourned her loss, she understood why great-aunt Margaret did what she did.

Suicide may be against the law- But it is a personal choice. It should never be taken lightly, certainly, but it is a choice. It is the right of the individual to decide how to live- or to die. Though I have my opinions, there is no absolute rule.

I am supposed to believe that suicide is immoral. I am supposed to believe that my life is not solely mine for the choosing. I am supposed to believe that God has a plan for me. I am supposed to believe that God gave me free will but within that there are many things that I am not supposed to do. Be honest, what comes freely any ways?

I am Catholic, as many of you know. It is my church that will not allow suicides to be buried into the cemeteries. My initial thoughts are in support of the church. Life is a gift that was given to each of us and by ending life, this gift is selfishly disgraced.

But is it really a selfish act? Now all the “what ifs” storm into my mind. What if the burden is too much for the family to bear? What if the patient must suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally? How are they to find solace? What if all hope is lost?

The burden of a loved one in our life is always the lighter burden than the other alternative, which life is without them. Surely monetarily, it could be more opportune but this someone’s life and there should never be a price put on it. Every person has the power to impact another no matter of the condition.

I then begin to think of people like Chris and Armando. It is not right for me to condemn them to a life as a head on a bed. How do you find the hope for someone who in this case is hopeless? How do you help them find the joy in life again when they have been completely stripped of every experience some of the joys they once had in life? How do they continue? How does you continue as their support system?

I found myself being persuaded more and more as Chris’s article went on. He writes, “Everything I saw and did was a stinging reminder of my condition…The joy I derived from seeing the happiness of those I cared about went sour for me…I couldn’t live my life vicariously through other people’s satisfactions and achievements” (Hall). This is completely and humanly understandable. Why should anyone be forced to live this life?

One of the only conclusions I can come to is the human ability to adapt and cope. Straight and simple as a human race we are pretty good at it. I guess it is not really that simple and definitely not in the moment.

I am deeply conflicted as is seen from the majority of my blog consisting of questions rather than answers. I cannot possibly have answer if I have never been in the situation before. Amidst my confusion, I believe that suicidal patients are ill and not in a rational state of mind. I believe that live is worth living. I believe at any life has the power to impact our world or maybe just someone else’s world. I believe in the preservation of human life.

The life we have is all there is, why waste it? I do not see the wisdom in taking your life because you have some hardships. Although, in all honesty, my life has never been bad enough that the only solution I could find was to kill myself. I do not believe that the reason we should not take our life is because an all-powerful God gave it to us. We have free will, and we make our own decisions. If we screw up our lives, we should not take the cowards way out and kill ourselves. If we want a happy, fulfilled, successful life we need to make it.

This opinion does not flow over into the question of right and wrong when talking about a medical disaster. I have never been seriously sick or hurt, but I could not imagine living the way some people do. I love all the things I do; from rock climbing to shopping to even walking on the beach. I cannot imagine a world where I could not accomplish those simple everyday tasks. I hold immeasurable respect for people who suffer a horrific accident or contract a debilitating disease and continue to live their life to the fullest. I cannot help but think that if I was ever in the same position as Chris Hill I would do the same thing. I am not saying it is the right thing, but I couldn’t bear having my entire life ripped away or being a burden on my family.

Suicide is not the “evil” that some people make it out to be. It is not a smart decision, especially when it is over simple things that could just turn around. When asked my opinion on suicide, I would need a clarification before answering. If asked about suicide and the terminally ill or horrific accident I would have to understand. The idea of slowly wasting away in front of friends and family in untold amounts of pain is horrendous to say the least. The need to die with dignity is understandable, and I believe that it is your life and if you want to end it it’s your decision. If asked about suicide and people who were having problems in their lives I would have to say it is dumb. Everything could easily turn around. If you lost your friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, job just got get a new one. FIGHT BACK!!! This is your life, and you only get one. Do you really want to take it before you even start living?

I believe that every human being is given a life, and it should therefore be well within their power to make the decision to end it. If only this problem were as simple as that statement implies, but it’s not. The dilemma is not whether or not a human should be able to end its life, the problem is within the decisions made by people.

To take your life is permanent, irreversible. But our minds, and our decision making process is not so. The beauty of humanity, in my opinion, is our ability to wake up one morning as a new person, taking on new ideals and having new feelings. Of many who choose to end their life, they do not spend adequate time thinking about this problem, or seeking help to learn more about healing their wounds. I have heard stories of people who grew depressed within the moment, and threw themselves to their deaths, only to survive, realizing that they never wished to die in the first place. So while I feel as though it is our right to take our own life, there are so many who would take their life without really looking at the greater perspective that I do not believe that our society should support those who want to kill themselves quite as much as it seems some of my classmates do.

What happens when societal values green-light self annihilation, all those people on the brink, holding back that urge because they don’t want to do what society does not accept. So many young people’s lives teeter on the edge of suicide, it’s scary, what happens when we not only allow it, but accept it? Would our school offer a suicide club? Perhaps there would be slides off of the edge Golden Gate Bridge. No, that’s the last message we need to send to those kinds of people, we need to let them know that it’s wrong and that they need to pull through.

But what about situations like Chris Hill’s, author of “The Note.” If that man looked me in the eye and told me “end it” I would have no choice but to comply. And I would not lose sleep for the rest of my life, why? Because it is the right thing to do. What makes Chris’ situation different is that he is in a state of irreversible pain, he is not in a mood swing, there’s no medicines he can take to get what he loved in life back, he was a dead man walking. There was no room for hope, ambition, and there was no life to be had in life.

So even though there are cases where I believe suicide to be a reasonable answer, I do not believe that we should encourage it. Perhaps it’s a decision between two evils, but where others see greater evil in keeping those alive who really shouldn’t be, I see it in those who died and should still be alive and happy today.

This is unquestionably too complicated of an issue for me to write much on. I don’t really have a absolute opinion on the heated topic of suicide and if its justifiable or not. Depending on the specific case of a suicide I guess I would have to choose whether or not its ethical. As human beings we have the right to decisions that we make with our lives. I feel that it is one-hundred percent correct to say that everyone has a right to do with their lives what they choose. I know one thing is for sure; I will undoubtedly not have a yes or no answer to this question.

First off I don’t think its ok to stop someone from committing suicide in some cases more than in others. Because the after therapy that they would have to endure for a long period of time would just be worse than if they actually had died and went to heaven and were happy! The United States declaration of independence states that we have the right to pursue happiness. If someone is not finding happiness and there is nothing left to be done to discover that happiness and they decide that the only way to find happiness is to end their life, then so be it. A perfect example is the article that Geib gave to us about Chris Hill. He was clearly not living a healthy or happy life in any way possible and we could all see that there was nothing that anyone could do to help him get in any type of a better state of living. There is no way I could ever imagine living in the condition he was living in before he took his life. Having to force my self to pee and poop using my finger would not be something I would be willing to do! So I understand where he is coming from along with others who would like to go to heaven rather than stay here with some other horrible medical problem that’s too unbearable to live on earth with. In other words, the only way I would say that I would see suicide to be understandable is if its coming from a medical perspective but then again I would see it more right if the doctor pulled a plug rather then the person themselves.

The reason for which I think that suicide attempts should be stopped and the person hospitalized and treated with therapy is if it’s a suicide of a mental person that’s just random or if it’s a love case. No offense to Romeo and Juliet fans and Shakespeare but for someone to end their life by killing themselves just because another kid did isn’t very reasonable to me. She could have missed him for a while, got some help, gotten over it, and met someone new and started a family. But she had to go and waste her life over that. Also when there is just random crazy people out there that are not, for whatever reason, successful in life and try to end their lives in crazy ways; I think they should be stopped and helped out so they can have a new start in life and start onto a better foot and get successful and with the right therapy they can become happy. Although I believe people have a choice of what they wish to do with their lives and I also believe everyone should be happy, I do believe in cases like these that suicide is the wrong answer and that life is a valuable and precious gift that many other not so fortunate people would love to have.

One thing that I would put out there as a suggestion to keep anybody from committing suicide in a case that its not really the right answer, is to think of your loved ones. Suicidal people need to think of what their friends, family, and loved ones would say, do and think about what their about to do. Would it scar them for life? Would it bring them to tears that will never stop? Will they never forgive you? Will they go into a depression? Although people may think that suicide will take them to a better place they must realize that, that one sacrifice may bring 50 others down that all loved this one human being. So that is just one last thing to think about and one more thing that makes it harder for me to decided whether or not suicide is wrong or right.

All in all, I am very much like Katie in that I am still very much conflicted on the issue of suicide and I have a lot more questions than I do answers. I guess I can conclude that though there are cases where I believe suicide to be a reasonable answer, I do not believe that should at all be supported! Like I said before life is the most amazing gift we can get and its super valuable. Why should we take our lives that are just fine when there are many people out there suffering to hang on to any survival of life that they can? While of course understanding the suicide of someone for a extreme health misfortune.

I was swimming through the waves for what must have been days...
But could find no relief;
When I started sinking down I thought for certain I would drown...
Until I saw you in the ocean,
Underneath all the bright colored fish tell of a treasure in a dull shell...
"Such subtlety, so easily missed!"
You, my hidden pearl of pure and perfect love,
And I'm the living example of 100% the opposite of this.

She's like the hot cloth on a fevered head,
And like a needle she leads me (while I follow like thread)
But you untied me...didn't You untie me, Lord?
And now I haven't even thought about killing myself in almost five months."

These are lyrics by one of my favorite bands, mewithoutYou. If anyone wants to listen to it, the song is "Tie Me Up, Untie Me!". Anyways, back to the point. Life is worth living, no matter how hopeless everything may seem. The past seven years for me have been a constant barrage of one problem after another: grandma dead of cancer, cousin dead of an overdose, dad's countless surgeries, staggering mortgages that we can't pay, ect. I know this is probably not as bad as many of you may have it, but I have been hopeless. And guess what?

I'm writing this blog.

I have never given up on myself. I know that everything will get better. And even if they don't, I will know that I have given my best throughout everything and I never caved to the cowards way out. And you know what? These past few months have been finally getting better. "The only purpose of me being here is to stay a bit longer". Again, lyrics from mewithoutYou. And my purpose is to stay a bit longer: with family, friends, acquaintances. Ever if I become a quadraplegic, I know I will have my friends to support me. I know I could find something in my life that makes me happy. It would take a hell of a lot of getting used to, but I know that suicide, would not be my first choice. Even if I did cave, it would be as a last resort and not an "My life sucks so bye everyone" sort of thing. I would know that I have given my best, and was just not strong enough to move on.

For me, religion has nothing to do with my decision. I am a Christian, but I would support euthanasia / suicide if the case is justified. Chris Hill amazed me at how long he was able to live like that. I know he was justified because, in that time, he had given it his all and he just couldn't keep up. He could not reach the happiness he once had. However, the emo kid sitting in his room with the lights off crying about how his girlfriend dumped him. Nothing of this sort should end in suicide.

Life moves on, so I'm told.
Don't get caught up in the present and that everything is just "so horrible".
Things will get better.

I fully understand why a vegetable on a bed would want to take his own life. If I were in his position and had been paralyzed and deemed incapable of doing the things I loved, I would be mortified of living. I've heard of para-and quadra-plegics scuba diving, okay I could try that. I've heard of paraplegics running marathons. I could give that a try. But if I could never go rock climbing again, or if I could never dive again (as in off a springboard), never dance again... If I could never have the chance to do most of the things I love doing... If I was ever stuck relying on people to do everything for me-- dress me in the morning, bathe me, do my laundry and cleaning (admittedly, at first I would enjoy this but eventually I would just start feeling extremely lazy and unhelpful)... If I couldn't work out and keep myself in shape, I swear just the thought of that is enough to make me shudder. That on top of everything else I've listed seems to me like a pretty decent reason for taking your life.

On the other hand, crazed teenagers who think they've fallen madly in love and can't live with someone.... and then the other person comes back down to reality and decides to ditch the other person, then it seems ridiculous and irrational to take your life. Seriously people, life can go on, and chances are you'll definitely find someone else if you let yourself.

So, with this brief blog, I state my case loud and clear. If you're old and decrepit and have some sort of terminal disease or are living as a head on a bed, then by all means, you have the human right to do with your life what you want, including take it. If you're young and stupid, you have the right to take your life, but if you exercise that right with so many years ahead of you, then you are, in my opinion, incredibly thick. (Thick as in dumb, people.)

It is difficult to just state a opinion on this subject. I don’t’ know if I find it wrong, or right to take one’s life? Life is such a precious gift which shouldn’t be thrown around so easily. I find it foolish that teenagers all around this country, this world decide to end their lives to solve a emotional dilemma. It certainly does feel like the easy way out, but eventually it causes more trouble and trauma to the people around that person to actually consider it a solution. How can someone from the age of 40 and younger think suicide is the suitable resolution for one’s life. I think it is ridiculous to even deem it as an option. Those people (especially teenagers) have only just taste a drop of what the life can offer, really ending it because of one relationship worth it?

Well here’s the thing. I feel I’m kind of a hypocrite. I believe there are some justified reasons to complete a suicide, and those are: being terminally ill, or a situation that makes life miserable (disabilities, injuries, that are really that severe) Truthfully, if someone is dying from a disease like bone and liver cancer, where everyday they are in agonizing pain, and they know that they will die soon, if they wanted to end it, they should be allowed to. Once life gets that difficult(not by choice) then it is their decision to decide to continue to be on this earth if they want to bare the pain.

The question is not whether one has the right to take away his own life, the real question is “Why?”

I see life as a gift. You have the free will to do what you want with it, but it’s not something that should be taken for granted. There’s no guarantee that we’ll have a tomorrow; every breath we take is like a teeny miracle. Having said that, there will be trials and hard times; sometimes things so horrific happen to the people we love. Maybe a divorce, maybe an illness, or maybe paraplegia like Chris Hill. He couldn’t walk, even cough and sneeze, nor control certain body function. He felt he couldn’t go on living that way.

But in his note, he mentioned meeting people who lead relatively normal lives. They’ve accepted their situation and chosen to make the most of what they have.

Joni Earekson Tada was in a diving accident at age 17 – she was an athletic girl, until the accident, in which she was paralyzed from the shoulders down. She was angry, depressed, and contemplated suicide. She was angry at God – how could this happen to her? But God had so much more planned for her life. She began painting – holding the brush in her mouth. And they’re amazing pictures. She’s also written books, started an International Disability Center, happily married, and she’s motivated millions with her personal story – I know that I’ve been encouraged by it.

You never know what tomorrow holds. When you find yourself in good health, family and friends surrounding you, thank God for it. When you find yourself in bleak circumstances, now matter how dark they may be, don’t give up. I don’t claim to know what Chris Hill’s life was like after the hang gliding accident, nor understand what he was going through. But there are people who do, like Joni Earekson Tada. You don’t know what miracles may happen, what joys you’ll find, what pleasant surprises may turn up. I bet Mrs. Tada never imagined in her wildest dreams the future that she has now.

Suicide is never the answer. There is always hope. “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” ~ Helen Keller

Suicide is a very difficult topic for me. Watching someone I love dearly attempt to take their own life has been a very emotionally distressing experience. Something I would never want anyone I love to go through. The image of her lying on the cold, dark bathroom floor with an empty bottle of prescription pills at her side will always and forever be imprinted into my memories. Her reasoning for wanting to leave this world, to leave everyone she loved behind? She felt her life wasn’t worth living any longer. The experiences she had gone through were too much to live with and never wanted to remember. So did she have the right to try and take her own life?

For me, I see both sides and think, “Sure it’s your life, and do with it what you want.” But I also think life is worth living and I would try and prevent anyone of my friends or family from trying to kill themselves. Whether it is my grandmother lying in a hospital bed with only a few months to live or my teenage sister or her friend. If I only had a few more months with someone, I would want every second of every day with them. I would want to live with them for as long as I possibly can.

However, I do think that if you truly wish to die, then yes it is your choice and you do have your right to end your life. No one should have a say in forcing you to live any longer than you wish. It’s your body and your life. Not theirs. They have no idea what you’ve gone through and your idea of your own worth.

So I do think anyone should have the right to die as they please. Because I know I would want to take my own life if I felt I no longer had a place in this world and if I felt my own life had no worth any longer.

I wish to make something perfectly clear before I go any further in this posting: no man’s life is his own. One may spout on about how they are their own person, how they and only they are the dictators of the terms of their existence, and how therefore suicide is an acceptable means to an end if they wish it to be so, but this is hardly the truth. It borders on, no I will not soften my words, it is a downright lie. Human beings are social creatures and because we gravitate towards our fellow human beings, seeking friendship, love, compassion, and acceptance, we offer up that which is ourselves so that we might take in what is not. It is in all truths a bargain. The human connections which bind us to our fellows inseparably cannot be underestimated, nor mocked in such a manner that the earlier reasoning so expertly does. I ask: does a father with a ten-year-old son have sole ownership of his life? Can he choose to discard it at any point, for any reason when he so sees fit without mortally impairing the life of the other? Can any man slit his wrists without cutting too the wrists of his lover, and father, and mother? “No man is an island” the saying goes. Perhaps it would do some desperate souls some good to remember this when moving on seems beyond comprehension. Whatever a man’s emotional state after all, be it filled with joy or sorrow or any other such emotion which may cross the human soul, I can hardly imagine a decent person wishing to make his mother cry.

Suicide in itself after all is hardly a good escape. If one wishes to escape from an unpleasant situation, there are in most cases, and I say “most” for I do not wish to delude myself or my reader with the thought of an absolute truth, the kind of which after all is almost certain to be proved misleading and in this case truly is, viable alternatives available if one is willing to look for them. They must be sought however, and though they may not be immediate or easy, I have always lived my life with the firm belief that hard work, drive, and optimism will be rewarded in good time. Life has a way of working itself out, cliché as the saying may be, and I might remind my doubters that as “no man is an island” no man must swim these treacherous currents alone. There are many people adrift in this sea, some better swimmers than other, some with life-rafts, some boats, and most willing and eager to lend a helping hand if one is asked for.

I wish however to make the distinction between committing oneself to living and blinding oneself to the belief that living is possible in all circumstances. One might remember my earlier use of the phrase “in most cases” in the above paragraph and it is in this area that it becomes most important. There are situations, disease being the most predominant of them, where life cannot be maintained with the dignity that ought to be prized as just as valuable a quality as the breath that we crave. And there are situations where death is unavoidable and living is merely the delay of the inevitable. When such is the case, when there truly are no viable alternatives, then death is, as it is all that is left, the correct answer. I for one prize dignity and honor above most that this world has to offer and were I forced into a situation where there was little good that could be accomplished by my staying, for I at least consider a the delay of the inevitable worthwhile if another might benefit from it, and all I had to look forward to was my eventually loss of these twin blessings, I do not think I would be able to consider living a worthwhile pursuit.

I truly do believe though that life is precious, not an absolute by any means, but still incalculably precious. We would do well to remember this more often.

P.S. Thank you for letting me turn this in late Mr. Geib. I will bring you the Renaissance card on Monday.

Last unit, after the socratics, most of the class found themselves under the influence of nearly the same reasoning and solution to the problem of meat and the problem of experimentation. There seemed to be such a majority that the answer we’d found seemed to in fact be the best and most well-reasoned answer there is. It was only until the other perspectives had to be forced out, to some extent, that other great ideas came around. Audrey’s speech did a pretty good job at beating the shit out of our “unfortunate but necessary” conclusion and did a great job at turning my opinion entirely around. And even in the process of writing my own speech, I had to somehow make myself believe what I was arguing was the truth. Something inside of me broke when I did that, because I still walk around confident in a certain burning truth in that speech that I’m sure I would have never agreed with beforehand.

And now we are back where we were in the last unit (at least I am) with a relatively certain perspective that in the circumstances of terminal illness and injury, suicide is a personal decision. And in depression it is the worst decision that could conceivably be made. But I feel like I am only scratching the surface. I’m excited for the point of the unit where someone presents me with a truly unique perspective that I hadn’t previously been aware of. I’m not suited to agree with my first instincts. I’m certain that there is more to it than the point-and-click reaction based pragmatism and the idealistic “ownership of the life” question.

First off, I just want to thank Mr. Geib for letting me turn this in late. I'll bring the Ren card on Monday. :)

So the question comes blaring at us: is it right to commit suicide? Should we be able to? Before I can answer this, I must stress that I can give no black-and-white answer. No matter how much I wish I could say either ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ I really can’t. Suicide is no simple decision. Anybody who just gets up in the morning and decides to take their own life, no matter how right they think they may be, is an extremely stupid person. Everything we do in life has consequences. Most times, if we make a mistake, we have the unrealised luxury of rectifying that error. And then we write it off as a mistake anybody could have made. As Dr. House said on House MD, mistakes are as serious as the results they cause. Taking one’s own life is a mistake that has irreparable consequences. This decision ought to be made with extraordinary consideration. I do agree, sometimes, it’s really not worth living anymore. My grandfather was a victim of tuberculosis, pneumonia, emphysema, and had a lifelong case of schizophrenia. I watched him live his last days lying in bed, with a hacking cough that must have caused him enormous pain. Eventually, it must have seemed to him that it was just not worth living anymore, unable to sit up without feeling like his lungs were being stabbed by a million knives. While I agree that sometimes you just have to hang your white flag, the decision should not be taken lightly. Many people will justify their actions with the reasoning “It’s my life, and I can do with what I want with it.” Bullshit. Most respectfully, that is utter bullshit. What these people do not realise, is that it affects other people. For instance, yes, it’s my life, but I am also a son, a nephew, a cousin, a grandson, and a friend. I felt so horrible when my grandfather died. I couldn’t even imagine how my parents, my grandmother, my aunt and uncle, and my friends would feel should I take my life. I have a responsibility to these people and before I would even think about taking my life, I would consider the effect my death would have on those I love. Otherwise, it is an act of simple and unadulterated cowardice. Is it really fair to let my loved ones feel the pain of my death because I didn't take their feelings into consideration? Is it fair for a man's two sons bear the pain of their father's death, and for the wife to grieve her eyes out over the charred body of her husband after he lit himself on fire because he couldn't handle his own life? I would think not. Frank, the antagonist of Once Upon a Time in the West (perhaps the epitome of the classic western movie), says “Once you’ve killed four, it’s easy to make it five.” Really, what he should say is perhaps best said in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, “It’s a hell of a thing, killin’ a man. You take away everything he has, and all he’s ever gonna have.”

Like all of our topics in Bioethics, Suicide is complicated. So many variables go into suicide and what motivates individuals to resort to it. I personally cant judge these people as being right or wrong because I simply cant relate. Never in my life have I felt so hopeless or meaningless as to consider suicide. I am grateful for this and can only imagine the anguish that some experience. Suicide has still effected me personally though. A dear family friend whom I have grown up with has struggled with depression and has attempted to end his own life twice. I cant even begin to understand why he would act this way. He has friends and a loving family. He is intelligent and a talented musician. In my mind he has so much to live for. But his mind is not mine. His life is not mine. I can’t make decisions for nor can I tell him how to live or to even to live. All I can do is love and support him. If he were to kill himself it would be a tragedy. It would be a waste of life in mind. But if his suffering is that bad then how could anyone force him to live? This suicide situation is difficult but others are more clear to me. In the case of the elderly and terminally old, I absolutely believe that they should have the right to end there lives. If living means pain and suffering than death is an escape and an end to the misery. Unlike my teenage friend, these people have lived all that they can live. There is little left for them to do than suffer and be a burden. If these people were to consciously choose death it would not be a sad or evil action. It would be both a logical and ethical decision. I don’t feel that I could say anything negative about those who commit suicide or the act itself unless I myself had experienced those feelings.

Being a teenage, I must admit that I have only had a scarce number of experiences compared to someone that has been around here for decades. Death is a common incident that happens everyday, yet is it rare for the majority of people to witness it every consecutive day. Among these deaths are suicides. Death is usually a feared, negative, and wrong act, but I believe that in certain occasions, suicide is exceptional. For example, an old sick man who has lived and experienced life that is going to die from Peripheral Neuropathy in a few months has his right to commit suicide. For those religious, I think God should sit this one out. If I were a middle aged man that got in a car accident, broke my spine, and was paralyzed for the rest of my life, am I not suppose to kill myself even though I am suffering? Does God want this for me? To be paralyzed and miserable at the peak of my life? We control our lives and choices, just like when we decided to have chicken or steak for dinner.
However, I think helping someone commit suicide is murder. Even if they want to die and have a gun but no bullets, giving them those bullets are like pulling the trigger. Plus helping them out killing themselves is just a bad idea to start with. If you get caught, you’re going to jail under the charge of first degree murder. Why go to jail for murder when you’re helping someone die? You’re not even 100% responsible for it. I rather just go up to the president of the National Rifle Association and shoot him in the face and get charged under the same accounts. And honestly, do who needs help killing yourself? I could probably find ten different ways to kill myself at this desk.
Back to suicide, I think it hurts the ones close to the victim more than it actually hurts the victim. But if the person really hates life, I guess suicide is logical. If I were in charge of the suicide issue, I would let there be euthanasia in hospitals.

If I contracted cancer and died today, my family and friends would go through pain and grieving. But eventually they would move on, realizing that we had a great time while it lasted and that I was just moving on to the next mystery of life. I would be able to tell those I loved how much they meant to me. Then I would die, just a whisper. All those around me would move on and hold happy memories of me.

If I was to commit suicide today things wouldn’t nearly be the same. The grieving would be the same, but that’s it. The memories that loved ones would be left with would be memories filled with “what ifs” and “if onlys”. They would be left with memories of what should have been, but what would never become.

What does this comparison have to do with suicide?

We all must die someday, we all have to accept that, but the way we die impacts those around us as well as ourselves. We have to look at the two groups that are impacted by suicide, ourselves and others. We have to look at how our loved ones and how we would react to a forced death, rather than a natural death.

Suicide is the ultimate act of selfishness. It is the ultimate way of hurting someone you love. Think about Chris Hill, the hang glider from Australia. Some of you are probably looking at his letter to his family and saying, “That’s fine, he told his family that he loved them but that things just weren’t worth it for him to keep living, he should be allowed to die”. Yeah, he may have written that, but think about his wife, think about his parents, think about his siblings and think about his friends. How much pain do you think that they are going through? Some of you may say that we have the right to end our lives if we see fit. Bullshit. What gives us the right to hurt those we love? The pain that parents and family and friends that people experience from suicide must be unimaginable; I thank God that I haven’t had to experience that feeling. But I can think of my father holding my lifeless body and being completely broken, I can see my mother weeping uncontrollably; I can see my seven year old sister getting up out of bed and walking to my room on weekends like she does to see if I can make her breakfast. I can see pain, more pain than any breakup or crippling disability could ever cause me. The only way where suicide won’t hurt someone is if everyone thought you had died but were really on a deserted island or something along those lines. By taking your own life you are causing a lifetime of pain for someone; you take away your pain and place it right on top of someone else.

Suicide is the ultimate act of foolishness and disrespect for oneself. Think about life, what do we have? We have one chance to live, one chance to love and one chance to find out what this life is for. So Chris Hill was reduced to a torso with arms, but he still had life, he still had a chance to relive his “glory days”. Who’s to say he couldn’t go hang gliding again, who’s to say he could never ride a motorcycle again, who’s to say what he could or could not do. He was so worked up and drowned in his own pathetic self pity that he forgot that he could enjoy life. He recalled how he could still work, but that he didn’t live to work; he clearly lived for the adventure. But in the midst of it all he forgot that he could still go out and adventure. Have any of you ever really considered the infinity of death? Is complete and utter nothingness better than living through the hard times everyone experiences in life? Mr. Hill wrote that “four attempts taught me that it takes an enormous amount of courage to commit suicide”. I have to wonder however, does it take an enormous amount of foolishness to commit suicide? I can hear the philosopher pose the question “Well, what if they, with sound mind, based on the analysis of their situation and decreased happiness towards the life they are living given the life they had previous to the event that lead them down the path to consider an option for ending their life?” I can hear myself saying “SHUT THE F**K UP!” Honestly, sometimes we look at life and we treat it like some kind of possession. Consider this, a rich child receives a perfect toy fire engine, and a poor child receives a broken, scratched beaten and weathered fire engine. The rich child looses a wheel and throws the toy away; the poor child looses a wheel to his toy and keeps it, he never knew things another way. Think about Chris Hill, he’s the rich prick. He doesn’t value life, he valued the pristine condition of life that he had. He merely glances over the fact that others live in conditions ten times more miserable than his; he claims that its all well and good for how others look at a crippled lives, but its “not for him”. I’m not sure how if he even conceived how spoiled and bitchy he sounded during his letter at the point. It’s like he’s saying “Well, that’s all well and good for YOU...But for me, that’s simply no way to live.” He ignores that some people never had the chance to live the life that he had.

Now think about dying. It’s going to happen to all of us eventually, we have to accept that. What is death? Remember the English professor in that movie we watched? It’s just a “whisper” in the time stream, nothing more than the silent ceasing of breath. To die a natural death, even one brought to a sudden and unexpected half due to disease, is a whisper. But suicide is an exclamation point. It’s a way of saying “It’s Over!!” Instead of simply going quietly suicide multiplies the reality of death ten fold, instead of death being peaceful, tranquil and natural, it’s forced, harsh and unsettling. People who say they need to commit suicide say they have accepted life and that they can’t go on. I find this rather paradoxical. They feel the need to pull the plug on their own lives, and fail to realize that if they accepted life the way it was they might realize they are going to die eventually, and that if they could wait another 75 years or so all the pain would be gone forever just like it would if they killed themselves tomorrow.

Life is not about being perfect, it’s about living through the hard times and living for the moments that take our breath away. Suicide is a short term fix for a short term problem. Our lives are difficult, that much is true; but the night is always darkest just before the dawn and in every day there comes a dawn with a song. This is my belief, from my heart; I love what I have been blessed enough to receive and I have no right, no reason, no sensible argument for me or anyone else to throw it all away. Call me near sighted and irrational for letting my feelings get in the way of what “may appear” “logical”. Honestly, f**k logic. There are issues where we need to follow our hearts, and life is one of them. I just hope that people follow their hearts away from the irrational temporary release of suicide and towards a renewed gratefulness for what they have.

this sentence (This is my belief, from my heart; I love what I have been blessed enough to receive and I have no right, no reason, no sensible argument for me or anyone else to throw it all away.)in the last sentence should be written as

This is my belief, from my heart; We should love what we have been blessed enough to receive and we have no right, no reason, no sensible argument to throw it all away.

Being a teenage, I must admit that I have only had a scarce number of experiences compared to someone that has been around here for decades. Death is a common incident that happens everyday, yet is it rare for the majority of people to witness it every consecutive day. Among these deaths are suicides. Death is usually a feared, negative, and wrong act, but I believe that in certain occasions, suicide is exceptional. For example, an old sick man who has lived and experienced life that is going to die from Peripheral Neuropathy in a few months has his right to commit suicide. For those religious, I think God should sit this one out. If I were a middle aged man that got in a car accident, broke my spine, and was paralyzed for the rest of my life, am I not suppose to kill myself even though I am suffering? Does God want this for me? To be paralyzed and miserable at the peak of my life? We control our lives and choices, just like when we decided to have chicken or steak for dinner.
However, I think helping someone commit suicide is murder. Even if they want to die and have a gun but no bullets, giving them those bullets are like pulling the trigger. Plus helping them out killing themselves is just a bad idea to start with. If you get caught, you’re going to jail under the charge of first degree murder. Why go to jail for murder when you’re helping someone die? You’re not even 100% responsible for it. I rather just go up to the president of the National Rifle Association and shoot him in the face and get charged under the same accounts. And honestly, do who needs help killing yourself? I could probably find ten different ways to kill myself at this desk.
Back to suicide, I think it hurts the ones close to the victim more than it actually hurts the victim. But if the person really hates life, I guess suicide is logical. If I were in charge of the suicide issue, I would let there be euthanasia in hospitals.