The Ethics of Suicide (IN: Suicide: the Philosophical Issues, ed. by M P Battin & D J Mayo)

Szasz argues that suicide is a product of choice by an agent, not a symptom of a disease beyond the control of the individual, & that such a choice must be respected by psychiatrists, police, & others who might attempt to intervene in suicide. He recognizes that suicide is “medical heresy”, but argues that the paternalistic prevention of suicide – whether by fraud or force – results in a “far-reaching infantilization & dehumanization of the suicidal person”. (15 refs.)