On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 4:42 AM, Keith Adam <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I asked my girlfriend's father who is a policeman in the UK the reason for > the criminality here... > He believes it is because someone commiting suicide may put someone else's > life in danger e.g. car on a railway line. > Therefore, if one survives one's attempt to end one's life, others may be > put at risk. And therefore, if one was to survive, you face a criminal > prosecution for your attempt based upon the harm that you placed upon your > felloow (presumably happier) fellows. That makes no sense, potential danger to others is not in and of itself sufficient grounds to criminalize something. The first response is to try to make it safe(r). It would be trivially easy to remove the danger and provide safe means for euthanizing humans. By that logic, killing any large mammal would be similarly illegal. There are many activities that are potentially dangerous to innocent bystanders that are therefore limited to specific venues with appropriate precautions. That argument also fails because it's not just dangerous methods that are prohibited, but all methods. Lying in a bathtub, drinking alcohol, taking an overdose of barbituates and rubberbanding a plastic bag over your head presents no danger to others. It does not make sense to criminalize all forms of suicide when the risk to others ranges from large to none. With all due respect, my experience has been that enforcing the law doesn't imply a good understanding of the basis for the law. -- Charles
