The Ethical Implications of Committing Suicide

When discussing suicide we should first discuss the possible reasons for committing suicide. These fall into two general groups. First, there are those people who suffer from some psychological disorder and wish to end their life because of extreme psychological depression. These are physically healthy people whose suffering, although great, is usually treatable. The second group are those suffering from some debilitating long-term terminal illness. Presumably, the illness causes great agony, and the individual wishes to end his suffering when the best that medical science can offer is to only prolong the pain. This second situation lays the groundwork for discussing Doctor Assisted Suicide.

Generally speaking, there are three reasons why most people consider suicide to be wrong. First is the religious viewpoint. Many people believe that life is a gift from God and only He has the authority to end it. Committing suicide amounts to basically spitting in God's eye and rejecting perhaps His greatest gift to you. The second reason one should not commit suicide involves the people around you. As they say, "No man is an island." When one commits suicide one is not merely hurting oneself, but also those who love you. It invariably causes great emotional pain to family and friends; they will miss you and for the rest of their lives they will constantly wonder if there was something they could have done to prevent the suicide. This is especially true of suicides brought on by depression, less so of those brought on by long-term terminal illness. The third reason one should not commit suicide is basically taking an optimistic view of life: life can always get better. Speaking from my own experience, there was a time in my life when I contemplated suicide almost every day due to severe depression. However, I would delay the decision and after several days I would note that my condition had improved, if only slightly. That was enough to keep me going. Now, years later, I am glad I did not take such a drastic and final step.