The Morality and Rationality of Suicide (IN: A Handbook for the Study of Suicide, ed. by S Perlin)

Brandt argues on utilitarian grounds that the decision to end one’s life can be rational. However, he discusses ways in which depression can distort the rational decision process. Intervention may be justified if the decision to die has clearly been irrational, but there is also an obligation to assist a person whose decision to end life has been made rationally.