Let me add one (and hopefuly last) comment.
I cannot understand, comprhend, how one can over come a basic human instinct to survive. The individual has to reach such a level that they can over come that instinct.
I've come to the conclusion that some people are just wired differently. When I hear some of the sob stories about what "caused" someone to do this, I can't help but look at the things in my life that would have been better justification. But it has never been something that I could do. I just am not wired that way.
It's really easy to rationalize people who do this as selfish, self centered, grandstanding, or whatever else, but if you are not one who is wired that way you really cannot understand the thought process.
And that's why I look at this with compassion. I cannot assume that they were thinking the way I do, or that they were rational. I assume that they are wired differently, and they are sick. It's not just a matter of willpower or selfishness. They are seeing this as a solution to a problem. That kind of twisted thinking shouldn't be ridiculed.