Why was suicide a crime in the past? I mean it doesnt make any sense, or does it? And are there still countries where suicide attempts are illegal? So you will punished with jailtime if it fails? And not just a short time in psych ward? Is it because you were technically property of the state? Or why was suicide deemed a crime?
Moralizing twits and "destruction of State property", of course.
(Geo Stone's book has a good chapter on the history of attitudes towrads suicide in the Western world. Used to be punishable by death, result in the confiscation of the family's assets and be used to deny a "proper" Christian burial, resulting in hell, according to the beliefs of the day.)
Ultimately, it's the same reason blasphemy and atheism used to be against the law in the West (last successful prosecution for which was in the 1920's, though avowed atheists are still more likely to be found guilty and recurve harsher punishments in criminal cases in the US to this day), or why homosexuality was illegal as recently as the 1990's, or why recreational drugs are illegal today, and even why "improper" use of prescription drugs is a crime. You don't actually own yourself, the government does, and in democratic societies, that means everyone gets a say in what you do, even what you do to only yourself.
That was it part of it. They also excommunicated the people and denied them a Christian burial, so they'd go to hell, then siezed the property of the family. So, not quite as ironic as it sounds to modern sensibilities. Basically, the punishment for attempting suicide was hell, plus the destitution of your family.
