A simple question. Do we encourage people to commit suicide? Do we only live with it when they do? I believe the answer to those questions would be an overwhelming NO!
What do we do? We put up suicide hotline numbers on the television screen. We post websites of resources that can help those dealing with depression. In essence, we discourage people from committing suicide. But why? It’s their body. They have the right to do what they want with their bodies. Right?
In some parts of the world, suicide is illegal. There was a time when suicide was considered a crime in the United States, and even though it is beyond the reach of the law now, suicide has legal consequences, especially in financial matters such as life insurance, where it may be ‌invalid because of a suicide.
In all honesty, it would seem absurd to charge a dead person with the crime of suicide after the person has taken their own life. So decriminalizing suicide seems reasonable. After all, who is the government to say what someone else does with their body? Now that’s absurd. Or is it?
If people have the right to do whatever with their bodies and no one or government has the right to tell them what they do with their bodies, why do we discourage people from committing suicide? It’s their life. It’s their body.Â
Because suicide defies the laws of life.Â
No one in their right mind says that people should be able to commit suicide because they can do whatever they want with their lives and bodies. No, we discourage it. We don’t have angry or violent protests saying that people should be able to take their own lives if they want to.
Let that sink in because even though this blog was about suicide, it’s not only about suicide.