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This could be an argument against assisted suicide, which probably has a higher completion rate than unassisted suicide. If people want to kill themselves, let

This could be an argument against assisted suicide, which probably has a higher completion rate than unassisted suicide. If people want to kill themselves, let them do so themselves. There's a good chance they won't actually follow through.

stevewodil 7y ago
It's not socially acceptable, perhaps, but most people already have access to plenty of ways to kill themselves if they really wanted to. Anyone with a car has a number of possibilities, one being carbon monoxide poisoning which we understand to be pretty peaceful.
- XorNot 7y ago
  That's the thing - suicide attempts aren't rational because they grab whatever's at hand and pick a really painful way to do it (paracetamol overdose is one of the worst ways to go - you get to die of liver failure over the next week, when you're probably thinking maybe you don't want to but by then there's literally nothing medicine can do for you).
  - flukus 7y ago
    Some, probably most suicides are quite spontaneous, but many are thought out over a long period. People grab what's at hand because it's the best method they know of. Suicide options are a frustratingly hard topic to google, you get a lot of hotlines but useful information is hard to find.
- a2tech 7y ago
  A friend who does car engineering tells me with modern cars you’d be hard pressed to kill yourself with carbon monoxide poisoning. Now a bottle of helium can be had at almost any party city store and that plus the plastic sack they’ll give you to carry your shopping in will lead to what is essentially a pain free suicide.
armada651 7y ago
That's a horrible mentality. Assisted suicide is only for people who are suffering from continuous pain with no chance at recovery. You would put them through yet more pain just to see if they were really suffering enough?
jandrese 7y ago
A big part of assisted suicide is that you have to make it through counseling first and can only do it if you can rationally convince the doctor that you have no better option. You'll never get it if your reasoning is "my life sucks and nobody likes me".
nitwit005 7y ago
Generally the issue only comes up for the terminally ill in the first place. They don't exactly have the option of deciding to live. Quite a few patients refuse to continue treatment at some point, which has effectively the same result. They could back out of that at any time.

stevewodil 7y ago

It's not socially acceptable, perhaps, but most people already have access to plenty of ways to kill themselves if they really wanted to. Anyone with a car has a number of possibilities, one being carbon monoxide poisoning which we understand to be pretty peaceful.

XorNot 7y ago
That's the thing - suicide attempts aren't rational because they grab whatever's at hand and pick a really painful way to do it (paracetamol overdose is one of the worst ways to go - you get to die of liver failure over the next week, when you're probably thinking maybe you don't want to but by then there's literally nothing medicine can do for you).
- flukus 7y ago
  Some, probably most suicides are quite spontaneous, but many are thought out over a long period. People grab what's at hand because it's the best method they know of. Suicide options are a frustratingly hard topic to google, you get a lot of hotlines but useful information is hard to find.
a2tech 7y ago
A friend who does car engineering tells me with modern cars you’d be hard pressed to kill yourself with carbon monoxide poisoning. Now a bottle of helium can be had at almost any party city store and that plus the plastic sack they’ll give you to carry your shopping in will lead to what is essentially a pain free suicide.

armada651 7y ago

That's a horrible mentality. Assisted suicide is only for people who are suffering from continuous pain with no chance at recovery. You would put them through yet more pain just to see if they were really suffering enough?

jandrese 7y ago

A big part of assisted suicide is that you have to make it through counseling first and can only do it if you can rationally convince the doctor that you have no better option. You'll never get it if your reasoning is "my life sucks and nobody likes me".

nitwit005 7y ago

Generally the issue only comes up for the terminally ill in the first place. They don't exactly have the option of deciding to live. Quite a few patients refuse to continue treatment at some point, which has effectively the same result. They could back out of that at any time.