DOCSLIB.ORG

Suicide: a Constitutional Right?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Suicide: a Constitutional Right? Duquesne Law Review Volume 24 Number 1 Article 3 1985 Suicide: A Constitutional Right? Thomas J. Marzen Mary K. O'Dowd Daniel Crone Thomas J. Balch Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Thomas J. Marzen, Mary K. O'Dowd, Daniel Crone & Thomas J. Balch, Suicide: A Constitutional Right?, 24 Duq. L. Rev. 1 (1985). Available at: https://dsc.duq.edu/dlr/vol24/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Duquesne Law Review by an authorized editor of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. Duquesne Law Review Volume 24, Fall 1985, Number 1 Article Suicide: A Constitutional Right? Thomas J. Marzen Mary K. O'Dowd Daniel Crone Thomas J. Balch* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .................................... 3 II. CONTEMPORARY ADVOCACY OF SUICIDE ............... 4 III. THE ISSUE: A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO SUICIDE .... 8 A. Acts Versus Omissions ....................... 9 B. Is There A Constitutional Right to Autonomy? 13 C. The Basis of the Right to Privacy ............ 14 * Marzen: B.A., University of Illinois; J.D., Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago- Kent College of Law; General Counsel, National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent and Disabled. O'Dowd: B.S.; M.D. candidate, Northwestern University; Medical Consultant, Americans United for Life Legal Defense Fund. Crone: B.A., Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy, Loyola University-Chicago. Balch: B.A., Williams College; J.D., New York University; Staff Counsel, National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent and Disabled. The authors gratefully acknowledge the research assistance and writing assistance of Richard Coleson and Joel Tornari and the research assistance of Frank Melone, Keith Moore, Mary Anne Naso, Cathleen Perry, William Short, John F. Stucky, and Mary Anne Xanios-Murphy. Duquesne Law Review Vol. 24:1 IV. HISTORICAL ATTITUDES TOWARD SUICIDE ............ 17 A. Ancient Judaic Culture ...................... 17 B. Ancient Greco-Roman Culture ................ 20 C. Early Christian Culture ..................... 26 D. The M iddle Ages ............................ 29 E. The Renaissance and Reformation ............ 31 F. The "Age of Reason" and Beyond ............ 33 G. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Political Philosophers and the American Founders ..... 40 H. Contemporary Religious Viewpoints ........... 50 V. ENGLISH COMMON LAW ........................... 56 VI. THE UNITED STATES .............................. 63 VII. OTHER JURISPRUDENTIAL CONSIDERATIONS ........... 100 A. The Scope of a Constitutional "Right to Sui- cide" .... ............... ............. ...... 100 B. "Rational Suicide: A Limitation of the Scope of the R ight? .................................. 105 C. The Scientific Literature .................... 107 D. Ambivalence and Reversibility ................ 108 E. Mental Disorder in Suicidal Individuals ...... 111 1. Depressive Disorders and Suicide ......... 112 2. Cognitive Disturbance in Depressive Disor- der ........ .................... ......... 116 3. Psychodynamic Explanations: Freud and Menninger ............. ... 120 F. Suicide Attempts: Is Death Always the Goal?.. 122 G. Socioeconomic Pressures that Induce Suicide .. 127 H. Internal Dynamics the Induce Suicide ........ 131 1. Physical Illness .......................... 131 2. G rief ................................... 133 3. Prejudice and Oppression ................ 134 4. Teenage Stress .......................... 136 I. The Effect on Others: Suicide Epidemics and M ass Suicide .................. ............. 139 V III. C ONCLUSION ..................................... 146 IX. APPENDIX: THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES ........ 148 1985 Suicide 3 I. INTRODUCTION It is estimated that over 25,000 people now commit suicide in the United States each year, and that over 200,000 attempt it.1 The total number of reported suicides in this country has in- creased slightly since 19702 with the annual rate averaging twelve suicides per population of 100,000. 3 The highest rate of suicide, by far, is among white males who are eighty-five years of age or older. In comparison with other groups in this age category, suicides among white males occur about three times more often than among non-white males, ten times more often than among white females, and twenty times more often than among non-white females." Since 1970, the rate of suicide for those between the ages of fif- teen and twenty-four has increased dramatically;5 suicide is now the third leading cause of death for persons during those youthful years.' The suicide rate among those between twenty-five and thirty-four years of age and among those eighty-five or older has increased marginally, 7 while the rate has either slightly declined or 1. M. Ahmed, Suicide and Attempted Suicide, 75 OHIO ST. MED. J. 73, 73 (1979). 2. From 23,480 in 1970 to 29,480 in 1983, a 23.9% increase. See generally U.S. NA- TIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS, U.S. DEP'T OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE, VITAL STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES (1970-1979) [hereinafter cited as VITAL STATISTICS]; PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, U.S. DEP'T OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, UNITED STATES PUB. No. 84-1232 (1984) (including years 1980-present) [hereinafter cited as PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE]. 3. In 1970, the rate was 11.8 suicides per population of 100,000. The reported rates in succeeding years were as follows: 1971 (11.7); 1972 (12.0); 1973 (12.0); 1974 (12.1); 1975 (12.7); 1976 (12.5); 1977 (13.3); 1978 (12.5); 1979 (12.4); 1980 (11.9); 1981 (11.3); 1982 (12.4). The average rate of suicide over these twelve reported years was 12.2 suicides per average population of 100,000. VITAL STATISTICS, supra note 2 (cited and calculated from annual figures 1971-79); PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, supra note 2 (cited and calculated from annual figures 1980-82). 4. The average rates of suicide by age group for the eleven year period from 1970 to 1980 are as follows: 15-24 years 25-34 years 45-54 years 65-74 years 85+ years White Males 18.5 23.4 27.4 36.2 50.7 Non-White Males 14.1 22.5 12.7 12.6 13.8 White Females 4.8 8.6 13.1 8.9 5.0 Non-White Females 4.0 5.9 4.1 2.7 2.4 VITAL STATISTICS, supra note 2 (cited and calculated from annual figures 1970-79); PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, supra note 2 (cited and calculated from 1980 annual figures). 5. In 1970, the rate of suicide per population of 100,000 in the 15-24 age category was 8.8. VITAL STATISTICS, supra note 2 (1970). In 1980, the rate of suicide in the same age category was 12.3, an increase of forty percent. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, supra note 2 (1980). 6. NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS, PUB. No. 10, 32 MONTHLY VITAL STATIS- TICS REPORT, (Supp.2, Feb. 17, 1984). 7. The rate of suicide per population of 100,000 in the 25-34 age category in 1970 was Duquesne Law Review Vol. 24:1 remained constant in all other age categories.' As one eminent psychologist recently noted: Suicidal risk is considerably high in single, elderly, and white males; in cases of depression, chronic disabling illnesses, recent childbirth, and surgery; in persons who are unemployed, facing financial difficulties; and in persons liv- ing alone with a history of recent loss of family member, job or prestige. Incidence of suicide is high among alcoholics. Also included in high risk groups are young people ... whose suicidal attempt is diagnosed as a sui- cidal gesture or a nonserious attempt and who are discharged without ade- quate treatment, family involvement, or follow-up.9 Thus, the ranks of those who attempt suicide are disproportion- ately filled with marginal members of our society-the aged, the poor, the ill or disabled-and with those who are isolated and lack- ing in personal and social support-the single or recently bereaved, the alienated and unhelped young. II. CONTEMPORARY ADVOCACY OF SUICIDE It is in this context that a social movement has arisen, supported by a number of philosophers and legal commentators, that regards suicide10 as neither tragic nor wrong, but as a basic human right. In the United States, the Hemlock Society has published a manual 14.1. For the same year, the rate of suicide in the 85 years or older category was 19.0. VITAL STATISTICS, supra note 2 (1970). In 1980, the rate of suicide per population of 100,000 people in the 25-34 age category was 16.0. For the same year, the rate of suicide in the 85 years or older category was 19.2. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, supra note 2 (1980). The average suicide rate in 1970 was 11.6; it was 11.9 in 1980. Id. 8. The average rates of suicide for all other age categories in 1970 and 1980 are as follows: 1-14 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65-74 years 75-84 years 1970 0.3 16.9 20.0 21.4 20.8 21.2 1980 0.4 15.4 15.9 15.9 16.9 19.1 9. M. Ahmed, supra note 1, at 75. 10. WEBSTER'S THIRD NEw INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 2286 (3d ed. 1969) defines suicide as "the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally: self-destruction ... [;] the deliberate and intentional destruction of his own life by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind: felo-de-se." BALLENTINE'S LAW DICTIONARY 1236 (3d ed. 1969) defines it as "Death by one's own hand intentionally lifted against himself." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1286 (rev. 5th ed. 1979) defines it as "Self-de- struction; the deliberate termination of one's existence." Some advocates of suicide prefer to avoid the term. "Euthanasists are repulsed by the label of 'suicide' in lieu of voluntary ac- tive euthanasia, since suicide is correlated with irrational behavior. The term 'self-deliver- ance' is a more accurate description of the act." D.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Suicide, Jews and Judaism
    Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 4 December 2017 doi:10.20944/preprints201712.0020.v1 Suicide, Jews and Judaism Kate Miriam Loewenthal Royal Holloway, University of London, New York University in London, Glyndwr University, Wales, Heythrop College University of London Keywords: suicide; Jewish law; suicide ideation; self-harm Abstract This article will examine the ambivalence in the views of Jewish authorities towards suicide. There are Jewish rulings which forbid the taking of one's own life, including requested euthanasia. There are seemingly contrary rulings which tolerate and sometimes admire suicide, particularly under conditions of religious persecution. The article will attempt an overview of suicide rates in Jewish communities, indicating variations in different circumstances. The question of whether religiosity affects suicide will be raised and examined. These variations—and of course other factors—may offer some clues to the precursors of suicide, and the processes which may be involved. The causal and risk factors in self-harm among Jews will also be examined. The article then turns to post-suicide events, behaviours and attitudes in Jewish communities. Introduction: Jewish law on suicide The World Health Organisation (2017) estimates about 800 000 completed suicides worldwide, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths. Suicide was the 17th leading cause of death in 2015, and the second leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults. There are about 20 attempted suicides for every completed suicide, with incomplete suicide a strong predictor of later completed suicide. How do religious factors relate to suicide? This article will focus on the question in the Jewish community.
    [Show full text]
  • Suicide: a Unique Epidemic in Japan a High GDP, a Literacy Rate of 99
    Suicide: A Unique Epidemic in Japan Magdalena Wilson College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt University Japan, a country with a long life expectancy, strong economy and stable political system seems like an unlikely place to encounter a deadly global epidemic. Yet, the unique history and culture of Japan, including its religion, media, and economy, create a setting in which rates of suicide are reaching unprecedented levels. The culture of Japan combined with the peculiar nature of suicide, which allows it to evade clear classification as a disease, creates an intriguing public health challenge for Japan in tackling this epidemic. A high GDP, a literacy rate of 99 percent, a performing a form of seppuku more appropriate for healthy life expectancy of 72-78 years, and a health times of peace, junshi or “suicide to follow one‟s lord budget of 1660 international dollars per capita (World to the grave,” (59) as an outlet for expressing their Health Organization 2005) are not the features valor and dedication to their lord. Seppuku emerged typically associated with a country suffering from one yet again in a slightly different form in the 17th of the worst outbreaks of a deadly global epidemic. century Japanese legal system as a somewhat more Then again, nothing is really typical about the suicide dignified alternative to the death penalty. Throughout epidemic in Japan. In general, suicide is a growing the next two hundred years, seppuku remained central public health problem globally, with international to Japanese society in its various forms until Japan suicide rates increasing 60 percent in the last 45 years began to modernize during the Meiji period in the late (World Health Organization 2009).
    [Show full text]
  • Jenkin Lloyd Jones Jr
    Jenkin Lloyd Jones Jr. Through the headlines of the Tulsa Tribune the Jones family has been a part of local and national history. Chapter 01 – 1:15 Introduction Announcer: The grandfather of Jenkin Lloyd Jones Jr., Richard Lloyd Jones, bought the Tulsa Democrat from Sand Springs founder Charles Page, and turned it into the Tribune. The Tulsa Tribune was an afternoon newspaper and consistently republican; it never endorsed a democrat for U.S. president and did not endorse a democrat for governor until 1958. Jenkin Lloyd Jones Sr. was editor of the Tribune from 1941 to 1988, and publisher until 1991. Jenkin Jones brother Richard Lloyd Jones was the Tribune’s president. Jones Airport in Tulsa is named for Richard Lloyd Jones Jr. Other Jones family members served in various capacities on the paper, including Jenkin’s son, Jenkin Lloyd Jones Jr., who was the last publisher and editor of the paper which closed September 30, 1992. Like other large city evening newspapers, its readership had declined, causing financial losses. Jenk Jones spent thirty-two years at the Tulsa Tribune in jobs ranging from reporter to editor and publisher. He is a member of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame and the Universtiy of Tulsa Hall of Fame. And now Jenk Jones tells the story of his family and the Tulsa Tribune on Voices of Oklahoma, preserving our state’s history, one voice at a time. Chapter 02 – 12:05 Jones Family John Erling: My name is John Erling and today’s date is February 25, 2011. Jenk, state your full name, please, your date of birth, and your present age.
    [Show full text]
  • Oklahoma Territory 1889-1907
    THE DIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE SOME ASPECTS OF LIFE IN THE "LAND OP THE PAIR GOD"; OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, 1889=1907 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY BY BOBBY HAROLD JOHNSON Norman, Oklahoma 1967 SOME ASPECTS OP LIFE IN THE "LAND OF THE FAIR GOD"; OKLAHOMA TERRITORY, 1889-1907 APPROVED BY DISSERTATION COMMITT If Jehovah delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Numbers li^sS I am boundfor the promised land, I am boundfor the promised land; 0 who will come and go with me? 1 am bound for the promised land. Samuel Stennett, old gospel song Our lot is cast in a goodly land and there is no land fairer than the Land of the Pair God. Milton W, Reynolds, early Oklahoma pioneer ill PREFACE In December, 1892, the editor of the Oklahoma School Herald urged fellow Oklahomans to keep accurate records for the benefit of posterity* "There is a time coming, if the facts can be preserved," he noted, "when the pen of genius and eloquence will take hold of the various incidents con­ nected with the settlement of what will then be the magnifi» cent state of Oklahoma and weave them into a story that will verify the proverb that truth is more wonderful than fic­ tion." While making no claim to genius or eloquence, I have attempted to fulfill the editor's dream by treating the Anglo-American settlement of Oklahoma Territory from 1889 to statehood in 1907» with emphasis upon social and cultural developments* It has been my purpose not only to describe everyday life but to show the role of churches, schools, and newspapers, as well as the rise of the medical and legal professions* My treatment of these salient aspects does not profess to tell the complete story of life in Oklahoma.
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychology Behind Jonestown: When Extreme Obedience and Conformity Collide Abstract 2
    THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND JONESTOWN 1 Anna Maria College The Psychology Behind Jonestown: When Extreme Obedience and Conformity Collide Submitted by: Claudia Daniela Luiz Author’s Note: This thesis was prepared by Law and Society and Psychology student, Claudia Daniela Luiz for HON 490, Honors Senior Seminar, taught by Dr. Bidwell and written under the supervision of Dr. Pratico, Psychology Professor and Head of the Psychology Department at Anna Maria College. RUNNING HEAD: THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND JONESTOWN 2 Abstract Notoriously throughout our history, cults of extremist religious views have made the headlines for a number of different crimes. Simply looking at instances like the Branch Davidians in Waco, or the members of the People’s Temple of Christ from Jonestown, it’s easy to see there is no lack of evidence as to the disastrous effects of what happens when these cults reach an extreme. When one person commits an atrocious crime, we can blame that person for their actions, but who do we blame when there’s 5 or even 900 people that commit a crime because they are so seemingly brainwashed by an individual that they’ll blindly follow and do whatever that individual says? Studying cases, like that of Jonestown and the People’s Temple of Christ, where extreme conformity and obedience have led to disastrous and catastrophic results is important because in the words of George Santayana “those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” By studying and analyzing Jonestown and the mass suicide that occurred there, people can learn how Jim Jones was able to gain complete control of the minds of his over 900 followers and why exactly people began following him in the first.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reconsidered Cemetery: an Architectural Seam
    THE RECONSIDERED CEMETERY: AN ARCHITECTURAL SEAM By KELLY JEAN ARD A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2008 1 © 2008 Kelly Jean Ard 2 To L.B.B., M.A.B., and J.L.H., who have shown me the presence of friendship beyond death. And to my Granny, who will not fear it for a single moment. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I first want to thank my parents and family, who have instilled in me the beauty of smallness and value of returning. This has impacted me as a person and a designer, and I am increasingly encouraged by them every single day. I also want to thank the professors who have inspired me over the years, specifically Professor Gundersen, Professor Hofer, and Professor Bitz. They have significantly influenced my design, my teaching, and my architectural comprehension. I would also like to thank those who indulged my fascination for the cemetery: my students for their constant enthusiasm, those who spoke with me about death, and those who walked the cemeteries alongside me. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................7 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................9
    [Show full text]
  • Workbook on Security: Practical Steps for Human Rights Defenders at Risk
    WORKBOOK ON SECURITY: PRACTICAL STEPS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK FRONT LINE DEFENDERS WORKBOOK ON SECURITY: PRACTICAL STEPS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK FRONT LINE DEFENDERS Published by Front Line 2011 Front Line Grattan House, 2nd Floor Temple Road Blackrock Co Dublin Ireland Phone: +353 1 212 3750 Fax: +353 1 212 1001 Copyright © 2011 Front Line Cover illustration: Dan Jones This Workbook has been produced for the benefit of human rights defenders and may be quoted from or copied so long as the source/authors are acknowledged. Copies of this Workbook are available free online at www.frontlinedefenders.org (and will be available in English, Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish) To order a Workbook, please contact: [email protected] or write to us at the above address Price: €20 plus post and packing ISBN: 978-0-9558170-9-0 Disclaimer: Front Line does not guarantee that the information contained in this Workbook is foolproof or appropriate to every possible circumstance and shall not be liable for any damage incurred as a result of its use. Written by Anne Rimmer, Training Coordinator, Front Line and reviewed by an invaluable team of human rights defenders: Usman Hamid, International Centre for Transitional Justice and Kontras, Indonesia, Ana Natsvlishvili, Georgia and a HRD from the Middle East (name withheld for security reasons). Acknowledgements: This Workbook is based on the concepts introduced in the Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders, Enrique Eguren/PBI BEO, and the updated New Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders, Enrique Eguren and Marie Caraj, Protection International. We are grateful to Protection International for permission to reproduce extracts from the New Protection Manual for Human Rights Defenders.
    [Show full text]
  • Alumni @ Large
    Colby Magazine Volume 98 Issue 2 Summer 2009 Article 10 July 2009 Alumni @ Large Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/colbymagazine Recommended Citation (2009) "Alumni @ Large," Colby Magazine: Vol. 98 : Iss. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/colbymagazine/vol98/iss2/10 This Contents is brought to you for free and open access by the Colby College Archives at Digital Commons @ Colby. It has been accepted for inclusion in Colby Magazine by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Colby. alumni at large 1920s-30s Meg Bernier Boyd Colby College Reunion at Reunion Office of Alumni Relations Waterville, ME 04901 1940 Ernest C. Marriner Jr. [email protected] 1941 Meg Bernier Boyd [email protected] 1942 Meg Bernier Boyd [email protected] Margaret Campbell Timberlake keeps active by line dancing every week and going on occasional trips. Y Walter Emery has travel plans of his own. In early fall he hopes to motor to New Brunswick to visit relatives, and, later in the year, he heads for Chapel Hill, N.C., to celebrate Thanksgiving with his niece and nephew. 1944 Josephine Pitts McAlary [email protected] PHOTO BY JIM EVANS We have made it to our 65th reunion! No Janet Deering Bruen ’79, left, and Betsy Powley Wallingford ’54 embrace during the parade of classes at small accomplishment. As I write this I have Reunion 2009, June 4-7. A reunion photo gallery is online at www.colby.edu/reunion. no idea how many of the Class of 1944 will make it to the June reunion.
    [Show full text]
  • Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds an End to Antisemitism!
    Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds An End to Antisemitism! Edited by Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer, Dina Porat, and Lawrence H. Schiffman Volume 5 Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds Edited by Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer, Dina Porat, and Lawrence H. Schiffman ISBN 978-3-11-058243-7 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-067196-4 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-067203-9 DOI https://10.1515/9783110671964 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For details go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Library of Congress Control Number: 2021931477 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2021 Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer, Dina Porat, Lawrence H. Schiffman, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston The book is published with open access at www.degruyter.com Cover image: Illustration by Tayler Culligan (https://dribbble.com/taylerculligan). With friendly permission of Chicago Booth Review. Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com TableofContents Preface and Acknowledgements IX LisaJacobs, Armin Lange, and Kerstin Mayerhofer Confronting Antisemitism in Modern Media, the Legal and Political Worlds: Introduction 1 Confronting Antisemitism through Critical Reflection/Approaches
    [Show full text]
  • The Punishment of Suicide - a Need for Change
    Volume 14 Issue 3 Article 5 1969 The Punishment of Suicide - A Need for Change David S. Markson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/vlr Part of the Criminal Law Commons, and the Law and Psychology Commons Recommended Citation David S. Markson, The Punishment of Suicide - A Need for Change, 14 Vill. L. Rev. 463 (1969). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/vlr/vol14/iss3/5 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Villanova Law Review by an authorized editor of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Digital Repository. Markson: The Punishment of Suicide - A Need for Change SPRING 1969] COMMENTS THE PUNISHMENT OF SUICIDE - A NEED FOR CHANGE I. INTRODUCTION 1 Suicide represents a major medical and legal problem. Each year as suicides, 2 in the United States more than 19,000 deaths are reported and this alarming figure does not even take into account the many "acci- dental" deaths which are, in reality, suicides. The reported number of deaths by suicide in 1960 represented more than twice the number of deaths by homicide, almost half the number of deaths by automobile acci- 3 dents, and almost 15 times the number of deaths by aircraft accidents. The number of attempted suicides is unknown but is estimated to be as 4 high as 200,000 per year. The basic purpose of this Comment is to analyze the relationship of the criminal law to a person who has decided to end his life.
    [Show full text]
  • A Good Death: the Politics of Physician Assisted Suicide In
    A GOOD DEATH: THE POLITICS OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE IN HAWAI`I A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN POLITICIAL SCIENCE AUGUST 2009 BY Lenora H. Lee Dissertation Committee: Kate Zhou Richard W. Chadwick Lawrence H. Nitz Calvin Pang James H. Pietsch ii © 2009, Lenora H. Lee iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A dissertation is a marathon, a work of art that takes time and a deliberate speed. Mahalo Nui Loa To all who stayed the course with me, My family, especially my husband, Doug, My committee members, Kate Zhou, my committee chair, whose motto is “Never Give Up” Richard W. Chadwick Lawrence H. Nitz Calvin Pang James H. Pietsch University of Hawai`i faculty members, Michael Cheang The late Ira Rohter The members of the Hawaii Death with Dignity Society, especially, The late Ah Quon McElrath Scott Foster Juliet Begley The ones at rest at the finish line, William and Rosaline Hee And the one just starting, Arwen Malia Lee iv ABSTRACT This dissertation analyzes the politics of the conflict between the advocates of physician-assisted suicide in Hawaii and their opponents. The first part of this dissertation examines the role of society in deciding whether the individual’s decisions regarding end of life treatment should be governed by morals, ethics and beliefs maintained under the status quo or whether such decisions should also include the option of physician assisted suicide under strict conditions. This part of the study seeks to answer the questions, “What are the end-of-life options that define a “good death” and what are the arguments imbedded in the issue of physician assisted suicide? The second part of this dissertation addresses the politics of winning the battle of physician assisted suicide legislation in Hawaii.
    [Show full text]
  • The Summons of Death on the Medieval and Renaissance English Stage
    The Summons of Death on the Medieval and Renaissance English Stage The Summons of Death on the Medieval and Renaissance English Stage Phoebe S. Spinrad Ohio State University Press Columbus Copyright© 1987 by the Ohio State University Press. All rights reserved. A shorter version of chapter 4 appeared, along with part of chapter 2, as "The Last Temptation of Everyman, in Philological Quarterly 64 (1985): 185-94. Chapter 8 originally appeared as "Measure for Measure and the Art of Not Dying," in Texas Studies in Literature and Language 26 (1984): 74-93. Parts of Chapter 9 are adapted from m y "Coping with Uncertainty in The Duchess of Malfi," in Explorations in Renaissance Culture 6 (1980): 47-63. A shorter version of chapter 10 appeared as "Memento Mockery: Some Skulls on the Renaissance Stage," in Explorations in Renaissance Culture 10 (1984): 1-11. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Spinrad, Phoebe S. The summons of death on the medieval and Renaissance English stage. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. English drama—Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1700—History and criticism. 2. English drama— To 1500—History and criticism. 3. Death in literature. 4. Death- History. I. Title. PR658.D4S64 1987 822'.009'354 87-5487 ISBN 0-8142-0443-0 To Karl Snyder and Marjorie Lewis without who m none of this would have been Contents Preface ix I Death Takes a Grisly Shape Medieval and Renaissance Iconography 1 II Answering the Summon s The Art of Dying 27 III Death Takes to the Stage The Mystery Cycles and Early Moralities 50 IV Death
    [Show full text]