Abstract
Implications of Autonomy for Forensic Consequences of Extended Suicide
Fernandez P~~Coverdale J~~Brookbanks W
This article proposes an ethically justified forensic approach to extended suicide associated with major depression. Extended suicide is the phenomenon of murder of a family member(s) by a suicidal person when the murder is viewed as a way to protect the victim(s) from a life of suffering. The effects of depression on autonomy & particularly on evaluative under-standing are reviewed. Implications for the clinical management of depressed patients who commit extended suicide are discussed. (16 refs)