vraiblonde said:
But don't you think it's a violation of his civil rights? Doesn't this guy have the right to end his life if he wants to? Or do you think the government has jurisdiction over that?
Sure - and if he were on acid, or stoned, or drunk, and wandering out in the middle of a highway, or heading to a cliff - we should just let him. It's his life.
In all honesty, I think when people are that massively distraught, they might as well be on drugs - their capacity for rationality is seriously diminished. We, as individuals would CERTAINLY try to talk a friend or relative off a ledge. But what if they don't have any? Who'll come to help them?
Forcing a stop to a suicide I think IS a violation -but there's certainly nothing wrong with persuasion. I think a moral society OUGHT to at least pretend to persuade.
(On the other hand - last night, the wife and I saw a CSI about a guy who fell off a building and LANDED on another guy, killing him. Maybe the danger - or inconvenience - of dealing with a dead body is worth considering).