Resource Tag: RIGHT TO DIE. INSTRUCTION MANUALS

This article reviews the major tactics for preventing suicide, including medications, psychotherapy for suicidal clients, emergency management & treatment, crisis intervention centres, education programmes for physicians, restricting access to lethal methods, school education programs, & groups for survivors. A brief paragraph discusses resources for those wishing to die by suicide. Evaluative data is presented for […]

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The author discusses the controversy over voluntary euthanasia & the “right to die” from the perspective of someone who works in suicide prevention. He explores how those in such a situation can take the opportunity to clarify their own values & contribute to the developing consensus by proposing “ground rules” for this rapidly changing intellectual […]

This article describes a video & a webpage that provides explicit information on how to complete suicide. The video, based on Derek Humphry’s book Final Exit, is criticized as reckless & providing the means to die by suicide when motivated by impulsiveness. The webpage is described as a Dutch-language site that provides step-by-step instructions on […]

This chapter reviews 2 distinct traditions within the literature on suicide contagion among adolescents & adults with a focus on studies published since 1986. The discussion of cluster suicides highlights the methodological & qualitative shift from descriptive to inferential studies. The section on media portrayals includes a discussion of fictional & nonfictional materials. The role […]

Final Exit is a do-it-yourself suicide manual aimed at the terminally ill. This book was originally banned in Australia but this decision was later overturned. Participants in this session debated the censorship of Final Exit & similar manuals. It was anticipated that this debate would touch on issues of rational suicide, censorship, euthanasia & the […]

This letter to the editor descibes the case of a 54-year-old male who had been in a maximum security state forensic hospital for 14 years after murdering his wife. When he requested the book, “Final Exit”, library staff contacted the clinical team. Although he initially denied it, the patient later acknowledged suicidal thoughts. This case […]

This article reports on four suicides in British Columbia, all linked to the book “Final Exit” by Derek Humphry. Only one death involved a terminally ill patient who suffered from AIDS. The rest were depressed young adults. B.C. chief coroner condemmed the book as a “facilitator” of tragedy. Vancouver chief coroner defended the book. A […]

In this article the author warns of the dangers in shifting suicidology from suicide prevention to suicide promotion. It discusses facts & fables surrounding issues such as physician-assisted suicide, how-to-do-it books, & anti-depressants.

This case history reports on the suicide of a physically healthy 30-year-old black male. His diary was found to contain instructions for suicide copied verbatim from “Final Exit”. The decedent’s history, the scene investigation & the external examination strongly suggested an underlying psychiatric disorder. It is argued that the case illustrates the abuse potential of […]

This paper compares the values & goals of the library & medical professions in the provision of health care information. Rothstein challenges medical librarians to reconsider their duties to nonprofessional clients & to clarify the goals of the health science library profession regarding the provision of information. Numerous examples, e.g. a young man who wants […]

In April 1983, the Queen’s Bench Division refused to declare the booklet, “A Guide to Self Deliverance” unlawful. The court ruled that the supply of this booklet in specified circumstances was not an offence under Section 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 (UK) since to do so would amount to declaring that future conduct was […]

The purpose of this presentation was to raise a number of issues concerning the situation of suicidology & suicide prevention. Soubrier does a retrospective of his own work, saying that he believed suicidology had made progress over the last 25 years. However, the emergence of right-to-die groups, i.e. the Hemlock Society, & publications like “Suicide, […]

In this report, the authors describe a series of 3 patients who presented to the psychiatric emergency room after reading “Final Exit”. Two patients actually made suicide attempts while the third expressed suicidal ideation. Closer examination, however, made it difficult to conclude that the book had any impact on method or intent. Based on these […]

“Final Exit” recommends poisoning & suffocating by plastic bag as methods of suicide for those with terminal illnesses. The authors sought to determine if the number of suicides using these methods increased in the USA in 1991, the year the book was published, compared to 1990. Asphyxiation involving a plastic bag increased 30.8%, & poisonings […]

This Letter to the Editor describes a serious suicide attempt plan based on the “Final Exit” book by Derek Humphrey. Through deception & cunning & visits to 2 physicians, a patient obtained a lethal combination of medications. Her innovative plan was discovered & prevented by a family member. The authors advise that anyone requesting medication […]

It has been suggested that “Final Exit” may facilitate suicide in impressionable adolescents & in clinically depressed, physically healthy patients. However, such misuse has not been documented. This letter to the editor presents the case of a previously healthy 30-year-old black male who completed suicide using a method detailed in “Final Exit”. Although the victim’s […]

The debate over euthanasia continues to be a concern for nurses & consumers of health care. The publication of “Final Exit”, a book addressing euthanasia & how to commit suicide, has stirred much controversy. The authors present an examination of the current legal, religious, & professional issues surrounding euthanasia. Nursing implications are described in relation […]

This article is comprised of two letters to the editor regarding the effects of the book “Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying”. Both letters address the lack of discussion within the book about depressed indivduals. (This book is aimed at suicide as an option for terminally ill individuals)

This article is a letter to the editor by D. Humphry, who makes two corrections regarding reviews of his book “Final Exit: Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying”.

The authors of this study sought to determine whether the number of suicides involving methods recommended in “Final Exit” increased in New York City during the year after its publication. They found a substantial increase in the number of asphyxiations by means of plastic bags but insignificant changes in the number of suicides by other […]

This book review notes that Humphrey’s book raises questions for those who work in suicide prevention. However, the reviewer says that he should not be falsely accused of causing suicide because people have always found the means to kill themselves. The reviewer notes that the book does not address the question of whether someone with […]