To not understand why suicide is illegal?

[DollyDoLittle]

Can anyone explain it to me?

Surely a person should have the right to be able to choose wether they want to continue living or not?

The law has been changed. Most policies do pay out now after a suicide.

oh dear..

wouldn't dream of criticising someone's content - am aware its infra dig

It just made me ... at the mental image....

Life Insurance policies will generally pay out as squeaky says tho' if previous suicidal behaviour/severe mental illness hasn't been declared when the policy was taken out the policy is void and won't neccessaily be honored.

If somebody has a physical illness that seriously impacts on their quality of life the majority of people these days would support their decision to end their own life thus ending their suffering. Why is it different for somebody who has a mental illness? Why are they not supported in their wish to die?

It's not different in the case of someone with a mental illness, though. It's not legal to support anyone in their wish to die, mentally ill or not, except by withdrawing treatment.

Dolly a few years ago I had terrible post traumatic stress disorder and became very depressed and felt suicidal. I was admitted to hospital and given help, medication and counselling. Now I'm a (mostly) happy mother of a toddler who enjoys life and recently started a degree. Should I have been supported in my wish to die? Or were the doctors right to recognise that I was a young woman who had been through a terrible ordeal, but for whom life could get better?

dollydolittle its presumably because if the person with a mental illness can be helped to get well again, they will no longer want to die??

Someone with a terminal illness will only get worse.

Not sure what's so hard to understand about this?

In the past we've had people threaten to jump off bridges etc and they get talked down and immediately arrested for breech of the peace.

Prior to the Reformation, the Catholic Church dictated every aspect of its followers' daily lives from they moment they were born until the time they were buried.

Unfortunately this wasn't enough control for some so they came up with the jolly wheeze of stating that suicide was an act of utmost disregard of the will of their god, and decreed that it was a mortal sin for which the punishment was that any person who had killed themseves could not be buried in consecrated ground, and their soul would never be allowed to join the alleged rejoicing throng in their fictional heaven.

Although suicide was decriminalised in the UK in 1961, any suicide must be reported to the Coroner and a post-mortem and inquest ensues and a verdict given.

A commonly held verdict used to be that the deceased had 'taken their own life while the balance of their mind was disturbed'. Of course, in other cultures the act of suicide carries no stigma whatsoever and is viewed as an ultimate act of self-sacrifice.

I don't know whether present-day Catholic suicides are allowed to be buried in consecrated ground or what part of the alleged afterlife is allotted to them but, given that the Pope has recently released millions of souls of unbaptised babies from limbo, it is to be hoped that this particularly dictatorial religion is taking a more merciful stance towards its followers.

generally, if the police are involved in someone attempting suicide, in my (short) experience they are detained (not arrested) under section 136 and taken to a place of safety - ie - a hospital, if they are in a public place.

if at home we generally assist paramedics to get them to hospital, where they can be assessed by a crisis team.

not every suicidal person should just be allowed to kill themselves - things can seem very different with the right medical help and support. My job is to preserve life first and foremost.

I think that's a really interesting question Dolly especially for people who have longstanding mental health problems which haven't responded to treatment or aren't untreatable. Their emotional pain can be just as unbearable, too and their quality of life very poor. But then there's always the double standard around mental versus physical pain.

However, I don't think it would be right to encourage taking ones life as a solution when the suicidal behaviour is part of a treatable illness. Sadly, suicide risk can increase when someone is recovering or has just recovered from an episode of illness.

Re Suicide and RC - as onepieceofcreme at the top of this page says in the UK coroners are very stringent in determining whether an individual died by suicide. I don't think that 'death by suicide' is a verdict any longer as it is so stigmatising for the grieving family. I think the term now is 'took their own life'

Just before I hide this thread...most life insurance policies do pay out after suicide. The same way as they do if someone dies of cancer or any other illness.

I know the majority of people suffering with mental illness get better but some don't. What about somebody who had been ill for 10 years, someone who has been in hospital and had all the medication and therapy but who still spends every day in pain and torment?

but dolly there IS no legal difference between suicide or helping suicide in relation to mental illness or physical illness.

I'm not sure what your point is...

I don't know the answer, dolly. Fortunately, the situation you describe is rare and there is always hope of new/better treatments.

There is not always an inquest after a suicide. And only a small % of people who do take their own life, leave a suicide note.

Dolly - That is why there is a high rate of suicide amongst people with serious mental illnesses that will never get better.

my ex had a brother who took his own life...saw how it devastated his family..

my ex then decided he would use this to manipulate me....he attempted 7 occasions....scaring me stupid,we had 4 dc who i had to shield from it.

he has gone on to new partners now....pulling the same stunts when he wants to get his own way

he's had basic psychiaric help......none of it worked...he once threatened to take dc with him,this backfired and judge ruled zero contact

its a horrible thing to do to someone.

i realise this isnt the same as most cases,just another scenario to consider when looking at suicide

Just to say I just this min came from a funeral of a young boy who commited suicide. It was a roman catholic buriel we live in ireland and it was I think one of the saddest occasions I've been at. The priest was kind commpassionate and gave his family so much support. He didn't shy away from the fact that our friend had taken his own life. He spoke in his sermon to the young friends about the imporrance of talking to each other and supporting each other. Our friend was then buried in an RC graveyard.
Catholisism in ireland in the 50's etc was beyond discription but the church is changing. And I'm glad that our friends family have that support in this horrible time.
Hiding thread now

Take the case of Debbie Purdy, she has MS and her family and legal team all support her wish to commit suicide if she becomes so ill she no longer wants to live. she can go to a clinic abroad and be help to die

Why doesn't the same apply to somebody who has suffered from a debilitating mental illness all their adult life? Nobody would support them in their desire to die. If they made plans to commit suicide like Debbie Purdy has they are taken to hospital, sectioned even.

Debbie Purdy wanted her husband to help her end her life which is still a criminal offence so completely different from someone with a debilitating mental illness.