In the article “Suicide Should Not Be Prevented”, author Thomas Szasz explains and proves why suicide should not be prevented and how it violates a humans rights to take this choice away from them. The first example Szasz highlights is that “if a person is determined to kill himself and is physically able to do so, it is virtually impossible to prevent his suicide” (Szasz). He proves this by explaining the story of a man who was arrested and placed in the back of a police car. The man was restrained and his hands were cuffed, but he was still able to break free from the cuffs, wrap the seat belt around his neck, and kill himself within minutes. Szasz goes on to explain that even Thomas Jefferson touched upon the subject stating that God cannot do anything when against a man’s will. This shows that no matter what the circumstances, if a person has the mindset to do it, there is a good chance they will follow through with it. In addition, it is proven that despite the advances in medicine and mental health services, suicide rates are not dropping. Interestingly, suicide rates have been increasingly dramatically. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, suicide rates have risen 24% from 1999 to 2014 (Tavernise). Szasz says “freedom means the opportunity to act wisely or unwisely, to help or harm ourselves”, and every person should have the freedom to choose what to do with their own life. If a person feels that they have nothing more to live for, and finds no pleasure in life, who are people to say that those feelings are invalid? By invalidating these thoughts, it could cause people to feel dehumanized and overlooked. Everybody’s feelings are valid and it is nobody’s position to have a say in whether or not that person is feeling that way they claim. In reference to personal experience, I have had depression and I suffer from an anxiety disorder, but having these illnesses does not make me unable to make my own choices in life. I know how I feel, and though I have never been suicidal, I have had people invalidate my feelings about my anxiety, and it is completely and utterly hurtful. To have people you respect think you are incapable of making your own choices because of an illness is not okay, and those people should not feel the need to make the choice for you. Therefore, it is unjust to prevent the suicide of others because it unlawfully takes away a person’s right to choose what to do with their own life.
The article “Why we should make euthanasia legal” by Kailash Chand, explains how euthanasia should be legalized. Euthanasia is the process of voluntarily killing oneself through a lethal prescription administered by a physician. In many countries across Europe, euthanasia is slowly becoming legalized for people, and is rapidly popularizing among ill people. Chand explains how she cannot allow people to be kept alive when they are living with “debilitating, incurable diseases” (Chand). She adds that is is not humane or sympathetic to keep somebody alive against their will. If a person is suffering from extreme mental and physical pain due to a condition they have no control over, it cannot be acceptable to keep somebody alive just for the sake of staying alive; anybody who is mentally stable should have the full right to this choice. People have the right to create life, so they should be given the right to end their life as well. Not every terminally ill person will wish to end this way, but it is popular enough that it should be an option for people. This method gives people choice when they have little to no choices left in their life, and allows them to die with self-respect and dignity. Though a very simple procedure, this new method of death comes with many limits and requirements to meet. The person must be terminally ill, an adult. mentally competent and in severe pain (Chand). The patient must also have two physicians present who both have signed off on the diagnosis and treatment method. In addition, in order for an American to be able to have the choice to end their life in this way, they must travel to a foreign country that has legalized this method. The United States cannot govern the actions of foreign lands and it is therefore completely legal to choose euthanasia, but it is unfortunate that extremely sick people are being forced out of their home country to die at their own will. Medical professionals have always had the mission to save lives but in doing so, they should respect an individual’s right to death. Euthanasia should be legalized because it allows people to take control of their own lives and allows people to have the right to death.
In the article “Suicide Must Be Prevented” by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, suicide prevention is incorrectly justified. The church explains how a person is going against God’s word by killing themselves and that people should recall God’s word in times of pain. They also explain how a preventive factor of suicide is to enforce “cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation instincts.” (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). The church cannot justify suicide prevention in this manner because not everybody is religious, and if they are, they may not be Christian. One cannot force an individual into a certain religion to appease them of suicidal thoughts. It is unlawful to force religion on a person, and by no means can take away one’s desire to die. Also, the church explains that by having a punitive attitude about suicide, one can make a suicidal person feel worse about themselves. Specific thoughts such as "Let them alone. If they want to kill themselves, that's their business" (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) are said to cause more harm to people by making them feel as if it is their fault they are suicidal and that they are lost hopes. They claim such views are a failure to understand mental illnesses and make people feel weak and untreatable. This opinion cannot be justified because if a person wants to die and has explored every alternate route first, there is no reason to doubt their feelings. By trying to prevent their suicide, it can cause them to become more depressed by forcing them to live a life they consider miserable. The church uses correlational data to backup their claims, but they are also a large influence on religious people, and may be trying to push their views on other people. One example of this is when they explain “Beyond the crisis situation, we will want that person to hear the healing comfort of the Gospel and receive the care of the congregation” (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). They explain how in the treatment process that the ill person should hear word from the gospel in hope to help them heal. This proves that they are trying to push people towards their faith which is not right. Overall, the church is entitled to their opinion, but through the examples they provided, they cannot justly prove that suicide prevention is necessary in all cases.