Discussion If it was illegal to stop a suicide

[EmotionlessWanderer]

In my honest opinion the huge reason why so many suicides fail is because some dude wanted to play hero and stop it.

How ideal would it be if they made it where prevention couldn't introvene with your suicide after the age of let's say 18 or 20, there was a way to self identify yourself as wanting to commit suicide to all of society such as a nametag and better yet anybody who stops you is arrested for intervening with an act of free will?

If people can leave jobs or countries left and right nowadays with little consequence then same should apply to those who want out of this world.

It would preserve more lives than actual prevention and encourage people to live because they won't feel like they are in a prison and having the option to kill themselves whenever without someone getting in the way will put a lot of minds at ease.

That's just my thoughts.

 

[Othermind]

an act of free will

About as real as a unicorn.

In my honest opinion the huge reason why so many suicides fail is because some dude wanted to play hero and stop it.

I don't have any statistics, admittedly, but this sounds absurd.
Most of the times you hear about suicides failing is because people either chicken out and call an ambulance or they purposefully pick a spot where they are likely to be rescued i.e jumping in front of a train at a train station or something like that.
And on top of that, you make it sound like the majority of attempts take place out in the open where someone can see them and intervene while 99% of the times people go out of their way to ctb in private.

 

[wxtyubidi7y]

Most attempts are ill-chosen medicine overdoses or cutting, and very few of these will be fatal but many will cause short or long term health consequences. For this kind of thing (often impulsive) I think it is fair to try and intervene.

 

[JustAboutDone]

I think that there are many reasons suicides are not completed. As @Othermind says, people may become understandably anxious and call an ambulance which tends to happen with people who take otc medications which have undesirable effects. Likewise with attempted wrist cutting.

It is not very often to hear of someone playing a hero and interfering with someone else's attempt. If someone chooses a public place to jump from, they may well encounter someone who will try and discourage them but that is down to individual timing.

Likewise being discovered. If you are planning to ctb and wanted to be successful you would ensure there was little to no chance of being discovered until too late.

Often there are cases of people who intend to harm themselves but not go through with a final act and that is where they plan to be discovered and hope to be rescued and subsequently helped though they may reject this as a concept.

 

[21Neberg]

Even if it was illegal for people to stop us from committing suicide, they would still stop us because it's normal human behavior to intervene. The belief that 'life gets better' would still drive humans to stop other humans from CTB.

Sorry for the ramble. I guess what I'm trying to say is that people would still stop you from killing yourself because that's what their morals and beliefs tell them to do.

 

[TAW122]

@EmotionlessWanderer Yes, that would be a fantasy for me. However, in reality, I don't really forsee this to happen, at least not in any late future especially given how the US and most of the world's attitude towards life, being pro-life, for life. I do wish it is a thing though.

@JustAboutDone On the last sentence, also there are situations where people had a airtight plan (or so they thought) but got leaked or discovered unintentionally. So while it is not common, there are indeed people who had everything planned right to a "T" but still been stopped. I do agree that most people who attempt it do it as a cry for help and oftenly do it without serious planning or having the right resources to increase their odds of success.

@21Neberg Yeah, I think the pesky nature of humans is to intervene in general and maybe it even goes far back as far as other animal species. However, I am not a anthropologist or behavioral psychologist so I can't say for certain if the latter or former or something else.

 

[Zzzzz]

What you are suggesting would be the sensible, humane course of action. To determine who wants help to live and who wants to die. So we can know beforehand what to do. Similar to a DNR order. The default should be to save everyone, Unless that person has made it clear that they don't want to live. I think it should be illegal to resuscitate someone with a DNR order. Basic medical ethics .

 

[Final Escape]

It would be weird to see this play out. You see someone trying to ctb right in front of u but u can't do anything. You just walk past, oh sorry dude can't help u. I'll go to jail lol! I'm not saying the person wants help and most people should be allowed to do what they want when it comes to this unless u are endangering others in process. It is sad to see someone very young though.

 

[Sixfeetunder]

If only... that would have been really nice.

I also wonder what it's like for physician assisted suicide (PAS). If there's a family member against it who calls 911, what happens? What if the person is unconscious at that point and can't fight against it?

 

[Jiva]

Honestly: It is a fantasy only. World all around us can´t accept it. Pity.

 

[Misanthrope]

Criminalising people for their natural human nature seems ridiculous and long term consequences to getting a job are problematic. What if it is worse than that and results in a stay in prison? Prison alters and damages people long after they leave. All for rescuing a human life? What if you are in a canal? Who is going to see your Suicide tag then? Does this mean everyone should leave people in canals alone just in case? What if you drove your vehicle off a cliff? Will you be labelling your car with informative information of the suicidal person inside so as not to investigate the twisted metal wreck? Liability culture is bad enough as it is. This is not a solution to anything.

 

[Johnnythefox]

Criminalising people for their natural human nature seems ridiculous and long term consequences to getting a job are problematic. What if it is worse than that and results in a stay in prison? Prison alters and damages people long after they leave. All for rescuing a human life? What if you are in a canal? Who is going to see your Suicide tag then? Does this mean everyone should leave people in canals alone just in case? What if you drove your vehicle off a cliff? Will you be labelling your car with informative information of the suicidal person inside so as not to investigate the twisted metal wreck? Liability culture is bad enough as it is. This is not a solution to anything.

Your logic and reasoning would see Mr Spock going into a meltdown.

 

[Zzzzz]

Suicide would have to be monitored and witnessed, like in dignitas. It seems like the only responsible way to do it. A person goes to their local authorities and says,"OK, I'm ready to die now. " and the secretary says "we'll schedule you for next Tuesday at 3 o clock. " Sign me up! That way, only those who want to die aren't saved. Any people stuck in canals or driving off cliffs will be saved by default.