The Right to Commit Suicide

 The fundamental legal question would be whether life could be treated as just another object or commodity or possession that we have which we can dispose of as though we own it. 

 

by Ruwantissa Abeyratne-August 23, 2020

Writing from Montreal

 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Declaration of Independence of The United States

 

In these difficult times, when a lethal virus is killing hundreds of thousands after inflicting untold suffering, it is possible that the issue of suicide would enter the minds of those who are the worst victims of COVID- 19. Even otherwise, suicide remains a way of the world where statistics released by The World Health Organization show that “close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds. Suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan”.

 

Recently, the alleged suicide committed by a much-valued former colleague, whose robust enjoyment of life seemed antithetical to his taking his own life, saddened me and confused and intrigued me at the same time. In a suicide note purported to have been written by him to his brother, the deceased says that he had no reason to go on living for many reasons. He was not old in the general sense believed by many - that old age starts at 65. As far as I know, he enjoyed every minute of his life, besides having a relentless and inquiring intellect which he shared with us through his brilliant journalism.

 

His death remains with many an enigma, prompting some to question whether it was suicide. This question apart, I would like to inquire whether one has a right to dispose of one’s life at will or whether it is a matter for intervention by the State. In other words, if one survives a suicide attempt, can one be prosecuted for an offence or crime? At the least, would a rational, reasonable, right thinking society ascribe moral strictures on such an act?

 

It was Albert Camus who once wrote in his penetrating work Myth of Sisyphus: “There is only one really serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide”. He went on: “I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas or illusions that give them a reason for living (what is called a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying). I therefore conclude that the meaning of life is the most urgent of questions” At face value, this philosophy seems at variance with the Declaration of Independence quoted above, which says that the right to life is an inalienable right endowed by the Creator which therefore seemingly implies that only the creator can take life away from a person and therefore suicide or indeed assisted suicide is abhorrent to moral and religious tenets.

 

Clearly, if one believes that life is an inalienable right bestowed by one’s creator, an attempt at suicide, whether successful or not, is both morally and legally reprehensible. In the context of the moral aspect, many erudite persons have pronounced their own takes. For instance, in ancient philosophy Cicero said; “When a man’s circumstances contain a preponderance of things in accordance with nature, it is appropriate for him to remain alive; when he possesses or sees in prospect a majority of the contrary things, it is appropriate for him to depart from life…. Even for the foolish, who are also miserable, it is appropriate for them to remain alive if they possess a predominance of those things which we pronounce to be in accordance with nature”.

 

Aristotle seemingly thought more lucidly when he said that taking one's own life to avoid poverty or desire or pain is unmanly. or rather cowardly.

 

From a Christian point of view, St. Augustin quotes the 5th Commandment “thou shall not kill” to mean that the fact that the Commandment does not say “ thou shall not kill thy neighbor” as in other Commandments which refers to one’s neighbor, ipso facto means “thou shall not kill thy self”. Added credibility is found in the dictum of St. Thomas Aquinas as quoted in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Suicide is contrary to natural self-love, whose aim is to preserve us. Suicide injures the community of which an individual is a part. Suicide violates our duty to God because God has given us life as a gift and in taking our lives we violate His right to determine the duration of our earthly existence”.

 

Carl Becker, a scholar on Buddhism focuses on the basic tenet of Buddhism which is anchored on “Chethana” or state of mind: “There is nothing intrinsically wrong with taking one’s own life, if not done in hate, anger, or fear. Equanimity or preparedness of mind is the main issue. The important consideration here is not whether the body lives or dies, but whether the mind can remain at peace and in harmony with itself...the early Buddhist texts include many cases of suicide that the Buddha himself accepted or condoned. …suicide is never condemned per se; it is the state of mind which determines the rightness or wrongness of the suicide situation”.

 

In an article in the journal The Conversation the approach of the Jewish religion is aligned to Christian philosophy when it says: “ In the Jewish tradition, the prohibition against suicide originated in Genesis 9:5, which says, “And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning.” This means that humans are accountable to God for the choices they make. From this perspective, life belongs to God and is not yours to take”.

 

Jeyaram V. in Hinduwebsite.com speaks of the social stigma attached to suicide when he says: “Hinduism does not approve suicide. Suicide in a family brings social stigma and bad reputation to the family members, and they may have to live with that for long. It also raises many questions about the reputation of the family members and their possible complicity. Hence, many suicides in Hindu families go unreported”. In another learned essay elsewhere it is stated that murdering one's own body is considered equally sinful as murdering another. However, under various circumstances it is considered acceptable to end one's life by fasting. This practice, known as prayopavesha, requires so much time and will power that there is no danger of acting on an impulse. It also allows time for the individual to settle all worldly affairs, to ponder life and to draw close to God.”

 

With regard to the Islamic faith, it is reported that “like other Abrahamic religions, Islam views suicide strictly as sinful and detrimental to one’s spiritual journey. However, human beings are said to be liable to committing mistakes, thus, God forgives the sins and wipes them out if the individual is truly sincere in repentance, true to the causes and determined in intention”.

 

Finally, from the legal perspective, many jurisdictions have written into legislation that attempted suicide is a punishable crime, seemingly on the basis that one does not have the right to do away with one’s life or dispose of it as one pleases as though life were a property owned by the person. Robert M. Byrn, professor of law at Fordham University School of Law has quoted a 16th Century judicial dictum: “It is an unnatural violation of the rules of self-preservation, because a “right” to suicide is the “apparent contradiction in a claim of right to destroy the life from which all rights flow.”

 

All this having been said, the fundamental legal question would be whether life could be treated as just another object or commodity or possession that we have which we can dispose of as though we own it. To treat it as such we should have the three basic rights attached to ownership: the right to use; enjoy; and dispose of it at will. One way to think of the issue would be to evaluate the inconvenience, harm or loss that those left behind might suffer by a suicide. The defense would inevitably be “just cause”. As to what just cause would be is left to the moral judgment of the person concerned. As Nietzsche said: “The thought of suicide is a great consolation: by means of it one gets through many a dark nights”.