Who believes that suicide and medicine are up to the individual?!
Question:
Who believes that suicide and medicine are up to the individual?
Hypothetically, if I wanted to kill myself, it should be up to me and no one has the right to interfere because, afterall, it is my life and my body. This is true, only after I have established that this is the best choice for me and that I am sure of it and I've given it plenty of thought. People like to interfere because they think that you're making a mistake, but if you explain your basis, then everyone should leave you be, ethically. Also, you should also be the only one who has the right to say whether you take medication or not, even if your life depends on it. Don't you agree?
Answers:
I agree with you, but only in part. There are situations in which suicide may be a better option than living and with those situations, it should be up to the individual.
But, there are many documented situations where the person who has attempted suicide and been rescued has been grateful to be alive. A twenty-year-old who loses his first girlfriend might think it is the end of the world when in fact us older people know that new girlfriends will come along.
The biggest mistake suicidal people make is to apply a permanent solution to a temporary bad feeling, not realizing that it usually isn't all that difficult to get away from the bad feeling.
One problem with suicide is that people are intertwined with each other and a death of one person affects many others. There have been kids that have killed themselves and as a consequence caused depression and death in other children.
The State of Oregon seems to have a law that works well.