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[–] TelescopiumHerscheli 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I'm OK with a depressed person wanting to kill himself. And if they want to, we should make it possible for them to do so easily and painlessly. I'm envisaging a shop where you can walk in, buy a pill - no questions asked - and leave with a little notebook of instructions and a list things you should do before you take the pill (send a note to your next of kin and your bank, turn off all appliances, make sure to leave the door unlocked, etc.).

I expect that this would prove a remarkably cost-effective approach. First, there would no longer be the cost of handling botched "real" suicides: people who were truly determined to kill themselves would be able to do so effectively at the first attempt. Second, I would expect the incidence of parasuicides to decline sharply: people who "attempt" suicide so as to draw attention to themselves and their unhappiness would be forced to consider alternative behaviour, as anyone who picked a non-effective alternative to the pill would clearly not really intend to die. I would not expect the effect to be so strongly marked in males, but the availability of a suicide pill would force the many females who "attempt" suicide to seriously consider the consequences of their "cries for help". (Substantially more women "attempt" suicide than actually accomplish it.)

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[–] Antima ago 

I think a lot of people who would attempt suicide as a cry for help will likely continue doing so. It would still attract they attention they are looking for. I think as long as we are really careful about how we decide who is allowed to get the pill it would work. I don't believe anyone should be able to get it as a walk in. I believe in treatment first but using the suicide pill as a last treatment option of sorts.

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[–] TelescopiumHerscheli 0 points 1 point (+1|-0) ago 

I think you're missing the point: if a highly effective and painless suicide pill exists, anyone who "attempts" suicide in any other way will instantly label themselves as not being serious about their suicide. For example, if a parasuicide swallows a lot of aspirins, and is subsequently treated and returned to full function, the first question we would ask them is "Why did you not take the effective suicide pill?" The only logically possible answer is "because I didn't really want to certainly die". If one does not wish to die then one must, however little, prefer to live. My aim in this proposal is to force people to really confront the consequences of their actions. Certainly, some people will genuinely wish to kill themselves, and under this social arrangement will successfully do so. However, I suspect (though I freely admit that I have no evidence to support this suspicion, other than a general feel for how humans think and operate) that many others, those who are really aiming with their suicide "attempt" to get someone to pay attention to them and help them resolve their problems, will avoid "accidental" death through "attempted" suicide. The point is that you want to make the suicide pill a last resort, once other options have been exhausted: I want to make the suicide pill a possible first resort, so that people are forced to make the stark choice early, and are forced at the earliest possible moment to conclude that, actually, they don't really want to die. Once people have reached that realisation, I suspect they will be far more amenable to psychological treatment that will help them make the best of their situation. I want to help people be realistic about the ups and downs of life, rather than indulge any prima-donna-ish behaviour. Attempted suicide is often a histrionic act, frequently linked to emotional blackmail: I want to prevent this kind of behaviour, and force the would-be parasuicide to adopt a more realistic view of their situation.