I have heard for years that it is illegal to attempt suicide, but do such suicide laws really exist? If so, where and why? Obviously those who are successful in their attempts are beyond the reach of the law, and it seems awfully mean to add to the woes of those who have failed by bringing them up on charges. More seriously, wouldn’t such a law discourage someone who had attempted suicide from seeking professional help? If such laws do exist, are they ever enforced? Do people go to jail for attempted suicide?
A: Life imprisonment.
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OK, so it wasn’t that funny the first time. But you see my point: How can suicide be illegal, given that the perp can’t be punished? Nonetheless it has been, and until quite recently in some places (Ireland repealed its law in 1993). This seems absurd, but as with many of our more curious laws, we only see it that way now thanks to evolving ideas of morality.
The ancient Greeks and Romans tended to take a practical view of suicide. Most philosophers accepted that there were circumstances in which it was honorable–for example, to save the lives of others, or as a protest against tyranny. Judaism traditionally forbids self-destruction, but nonetheless many Jews continue to mythologize the mass suicide at Masada, where 960 are believed to have killed themselves rather than surrender to the Romans. Early Christians were even more ambivalent about suicide, as you might expect from followers of a religion founded on martyrdom. Virgins who preferred suicide to dishonor were also celebrated, and at least one, Saint Pelagia, was canonized. Islam alone among these three faiths has a clear scriptural ban on suicide, but as recent events have made plain, that hasn’t prevented certain zealots from arriving at permissive interpretations thereof.
