# Is suicide a "cowardly" act? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 21, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185 "2005-02-21T15:54:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dancing\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dancing\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dancing_Dead)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/61 "2005-02-23T18:32:11Z")
> [@Q.N. Jones](#): > > Actually, I didn’t intend that to be directed at you, but at the poster who made the comment about selfishness. Thank you. I don’t have much more to add to this thread right now, but that was very polite of you. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/62 "2005-02-23T18:37:33Z")
> [@Q.N. Jones](#): > > Gimme a break. Most family members don’t want them to “stick it out” for selfish reasons, but because they can see–as seriously depressed people usually can’t–that there is still hope for recovery, for good times, and/or for a life with some meaning. They don’t want to see their loved ones miss out on that. > > (The exceptions I see are usually the family members of the irredeemably terminally ill, where there can be no other motive. Even then, the selfishness is usually unconscious.) I agree. Sometimes it’s manageable depression. However, there are people who are plagued with serious depression that they never find relief from. At any rate, if a person can’t find an alternative to depression, why should they be obligated to continue a pain-filled life? Doesn’t a human being have the basic right to end an unhappy existence? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/63 "2005-02-23T19:30:55Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I tend to think of suicide for healthy adults as both selfish and cowardly, even if all they’re afraid of is facing the next dawn or night alone. I don’t want to give the impression that I think that my reaction is the best one towards the idea of suicide, nor that I want to change anyone to my view. Just answering the OP’s question. Why would you think a chronically depressed person is “healthy?” We’re not talking about someone who just lost $50 at the track. We’re talking about clinical depression. Depression that, for many people, is never relieved by medication or therapy. It is as debilitating as cancer. And equally painful. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/64 "2005-02-24T00:00:21Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Why would you think a chronically depressed person is “healthy?” We’re not talking about someone who just lost $50 at the track. We’re talking about clinical depression. Depression that, for many people, is never relieved by medication or therapy. It is as debilitating as cancer. And equally painful. Basically - the same reason I think I’m generally healthy. I’m not trying to deny the pain that mental illness encompasses, I am a consumer, myself, and know something of the situation. There is a dichotomy, not just in my mind, but in the mind of the public at large between physical health and mental health. I was trying to speak to the physical health - not mental. I choose poor wording, and apologise for that. Again, let me restate, I am not particularly pleased with my view towards suicide - but I’m afraid what might happen if I **did** my mind. So, I’ll stay over here, if you don’t mind. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/65 "2005-02-24T00:55:33Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > **faithfool** , frankly, at this point, being another long time sufferer of mental illness I plan to live a long, and preferably satisfying, life. And part of that is because, dammit, I’m not going to give the illness a victory. This may be as childish as my statements about suicide, I’ll admit, but… > > Let’s face it, no one makes it out alive, anyways - I don’t plan to be an ‘own goal.’ I don’t really know how to make things more clear than that. And I’m terrible at motivating other people. I can’t answer for you. And all I can do is offer help, and point you to people who do have some idea how to motivate others to avoid suicide. > > Sorry I don’t have a better answer, **faithfool**. FWIW, I do hope you keep posting here. I want to hear the next Bob story, darnit. 😉 Thank you **OtakuLoki**. Bob always appreciates being mentioned and having fans on our side. The smile that brought to my face meant today had something special in it. Now, I don’t know if anecdotal evidence is called for in this thread to show another side -or- at this point, anyone is even interested in all my rending of garments and gnashing of teeth wailing on about my problems, but if it can offer a different perspective to the questions asked (and if it’s wanted – certainly no throwing out shit on the table at the party), then I’d be willing to prattle on about life for the chronically depressed, yadda yadda yadda, who can’t seem to permanently fix it and deal with the whole suicide issue at least four hundred times daily. Lemme know. Bob and I will be standing by. Trying to work on that evil world domination thing we’ve been set up to pursue with a vengence. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/66 "2005-02-24T01:32:06Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Inspired by the Hunter thompson threads. Like Kurt Cobain a few years ago, it seems a number of people feel the need to tell everybody how “cowardly” it is for an individual to end his own life. > > My question is whether this sentiment has any real merit. What makes it “cowardly?” Cowardice implies fear. What is the individual supposedly afraid of? > > Does a person have some sort of moral obligation to stay alive if he doesn’t want to? Why? > > I’m trying to understand why suicide is supposed mean anything about “character.” Why does staying alive make you a better person than not staying alive? > > Also, is it fair to make moral judgements about people who make these decisions because of mental illness or depression? Can we say that they’re making a decision which is truly lucid and informed at the time they make it? > > I’m not saying suicide can _never_ be an act of cowardice. There are instances where people do it to avoid consequences for criminal actions, for instance. But is _any_ act of suicide always and necessarily an act of cowardice? > > I say no. Suicide is usually the act of a depressed person. Any cowardice involved is the result of not using reason (above emotion) to seek help. Real depression is a battle that requires a person to fight for survival. I heard an interview with Curt Colbain before he died. He came across as a punk-ass kid. My guess is that he found out fame and fortune just made him wealty and that happiness can’t be purchased. Just a swag on my part because it is impossible to know what goes through a depressed person’s mind unless they communicate it. No, it’s not fair to judge a suicide without all the facts but it’s worth discussing for the benefit of those who might think along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/67 "2005-02-24T03:32:34Z")
There have been too many suicides in my life–none directly related to me, thank God. One was a middle aged woman at my church–she hanged herself in her closet and let her 13 y/o daughter find her after school. She was in treatment (outpt b/c her insurance had run out of inpt days). Another was a doctor–brilliant pulmonologist with a specialty in sleep disorders. He left behind 3 beautiful daughters whose ground will never be quite firm again. The last 3 are all teen age/early twenties guys: all headed to college and bright futures. ALL of their deaths stem from watching helplessly while another friend of theirs drowned in Hawaii. The last one hanged himself in Dec–his funeral was held on Christmas Eve. I have mixed feelings and thoughts about suicide. On the one hand, I agree that it is not an act of cowardice. IMO, it is called that by those left behind out of anger towards the deceased. I think that suicide is an act of anger and self hatred–and it indicates an irrationality of thought. (I exclude cases of terminal CA etc here). It is the biggest, most extreme, “fuck you, world” that there is. But having seen the devastation that is left behind–it is bone deep, life shattering, horrific. I cannot just state, “well, they were living a hell and so chose to end it.” That is too easy for my taste. Hell comes in all shapes and sizes–and each suicide creates a hell as they find their peace. I am not sure what the answer(s) should be. Counselling, meds, inpt treatment, prevention and hotlines all do work, to some extent. I do know that telling teens that “if you commit suicide, you know you’ll miss Prom/never drive/never have a GF/BF etc” is complete nonsense. It’s what was told to me and my class back in 1979. We thought it was BS then, too. Just a note: suicides most often occur NOT when the pt is most deeply depressed–they lack the strength and energy then. The risk comes when they are starting to respond to treatment and are allowed some independence (which is what happened to the church woman)… ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/68 "2005-02-24T23:53:28Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Of course; I don’t think it necessaily _must_ be a selfish act; I only said that it _can_ - and I think it is marginally more likely . Though I’ve only this anecdotal evidence, I would now tend to suspect that the state of mind of my friend regarding his daughter could be prevalent amongst depressed people rather than an exception. I say “now” bcause before this conversation I had with him, it never occured to me that a depressed parent could follow this kind of reasonning (barring exceptionnal circumstances) . I would have expected the existence of a child to be a deterent, not yet another reason to entertain thoughts of suicide. But now, I think it makes a lot of sense given the mindset of a depressed person, and as I said, I tend to suspect it might be widespread. Of course, it’s only a WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/69 "2005-02-25T16:45:52Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > That still sounds like a rational choice. The idea of forcing someone to stay alive so he can be made to suffer (“face the penalties for his crimes”) strikes me as barbaric, frankly. If I had to choose between spending 55 years in prison and killing myself, I’d choose the latter in a heartbeat. Me too. I think. I suppose I could have a productive life behind bars, but the idea of the permanency of it might depress me to the point of suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Canadiangirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Canadiangirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadiangirl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/70 "2005-02-25T17:00:05Z")
It’s viewed as a cowardly act by some because of the ones left behind. It’s an extremely cruel thing to do to family, friends or even strangers. Imagine a small child finding daddy hanging from the rafters or mommy with her head in the oven. What a horrible thing to do to a child. After all, the person who committed suicide doesn’t have to live with it; or see the vision every day; or wonder why; or if there was something they could have done? What a horrible, horrible thing to do to someone. If you are truly looking to do something like that, AND you’ve decided this with 100% of your gray matter, go into the woods, lay down where no one will find you except critters and do it. Don’t leave a horrific vision for someone to live with. That’s why I view it as cowardly… ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/71 "2005-02-25T17:18:01Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I think that suicide is an act of anger and self hatred–and it indicates an irrationality of thought. (I exclude cases of terminal CA etc here). It is the biggest, most extreme, “fuck you, world” that there is. I’m with you on the self-hatred, but I disagree that it lacks rationality (see your final statement below) at least in a lot of cases. A person who cannot find peace in his or her life is capable of determining that and intelligently choosing to die. Are there people who get a snootful and off themselves because the wife ran away with the milkman? Sure (and actually, I think that’s ok too…shortsighted, but ok). But we’re talking about a different level of depression here. > [@](#): > > But having seen the devastation that is left behind–it is bone deep, life shattering, horrific. I cannot just state, “well, they were living a hell and so chose to end it.” That is too easy for my taste. Hell comes in all shapes and sizes–and each suicide creates a hell as they find their peace. Well, there’s no getting away from the fact that suicide hurts other people. Life stinks a lot of the time. Is it worse to lose someone to suicide than to illness? My mother-in-law lost her two youngest…one to a gunshot wound to the head and one to alcoholism (and a grandson to a motorcycle accident). I don’t think she could say one is worse than the other. She just knows her two youngest children are dead. > [@](#): > > I am not sure what the answer(s) should be. Counselling, meds, inpt treatment, prevention and hotlines all do work, to some extent. For MOST people. For others, they never feel well enough to stop entertaining thoughts of suicide. Not everyone’s chemical makeup can be corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/72 "2005-02-25T17:23:19Z")
> [@Canadiangirl](#): > > It’s viewed as a cowardly act by some because of the ones left behind. It’s an extremely cruel thing to do to family, friends or even strangers. Imagine a small child finding daddy hanging from the rafters or mommy with her head in the oven. > > What a horrible thing to do to a child. After all, the person who committed suicide doesn’t have to live with it; or see the vision every day; or wonder why; or if there was something they could have done? > > What a horrible, horrible thing to do to someone. > > If you are truly looking to do something like that, AND you’ve decided this with 100% of your gray matter, go into the woods, lay down where no one will find you except critters and do it. Don’t leave a horrific vision for someone to live with. > > That’s why I view it as cowardly… Cowardly does not equal cruel. The words have completely different meanings. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2005, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/73 "2005-02-25T18:04:57Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > For MOST people. For others, they never feel well enough to stop entertaining thoughts of suicide. Not everyone’s chemical makeup can be corrected. One of the suicides I knew was simply uncorrectable. To give context, his entire family is unstable. His parents have both been in and out of mental institutions, his sister was psychotic, his brother was a paranoid schizophrenic who was wanted by the police for a violent crime but who had spent 10 years hiding out somewhere, and then there was Harry (not his real name) who had been medicated up to his eyes for twenty years without a moment’s happiness. Yes, he killed himself. Yes, I’m sure it was upsetting for his parents and his wife. I know it was. It had to be. But what else was Harry supposed to do in order to appease everyone else? He left a note saying he was afraid he’d do something violent, that he’d turn into his brother, that he could feel his control slipping. He was already half zombified by all the meds. He had already been “helped.” The tragedy isn’t the suicide. The tragedy is that a very nice man had an incurable disease. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/74 "2005-02-26T01:06:03Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Does a person have some sort of moral obligation to stay alive if he doesn’t want to? Why? [QUOTE] Something is being overlooked Well I am glad to see someone ask the question, and I think that it depends on the context. I see people here talking about depression/ mental deficit etc. Studies show that most depressed people committing suicide, don’t really want to die. They are rather “crying for help” seeking a last ditch effort for attention or to get a point across (whether it is a conscious decision or not). Opinions on whether they are “cowardly” are obviously going to vary, but my key thought regarding legitimate suicide lies somewhere else. There is a whole other group of people being overlooked here. This is the chronically ill/ terminally ill people to which life is not much better than death. If someone is in this situation, a burden on others, and their life is pain and misery, who is to say that they are being cowardly if they were to want to end their life. To me in this situation, it seems to me that it is family and friends that are being cowardly and selfish if they are trying to prevent someone from committing suicide. I don’t see a moral issue in it either, as I don’t think anyone can justify saying that we are meant to slowly suffer and die with no real life other than constant pain. I suspect many people may change there opinion on this if THEY were the ones in the situation (whether or not they actually chose to committ suicide or not). I submitt that it takes courage and strength to face death, but they are making a educated choice. We are certainly all taught that suicide is wrong, but why should it be in these cases? Who is the one being cowardly? ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/75 "2005-02-26T01:27:42Z")
> [@jeffh3000](#): > > I see people here talking about depression/ mental deficit etc. Studies show that most depressed people committing suicide, don’t really want to die. They are rather “crying for help” seeking a last ditch effort for attention or to get a point across (whether it is a conscious decision or not). I’d like to see those studies… do you have a link? I wonder how they can determine the motivation of a dead person. If they just interviewed people who _unsuccessfully_ attempted suicide, that’s not quite the same. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2005, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/76 "2005-02-26T20:30:54Z")
First off, great rebuttals by **neutron star**. > [@](#): > > originally posted by **Q.N. Jones** > > > [@](#): > > > > originally posted by **Dancing Dead** > > Therapy doesn’t always work. Telling people to “stick it out” doesn’t work if the drugs they take to make themselves better end up making them worse. > > By this standard, I should have offed myself ages ago. > [@](#): > > _ibid_ What I take exception to is the attitude that it’s selfish or ignorant to try to offer hope and encouragement to go on to a person in misery who is contemplating suicide. Not to pick on you especially, **Q.N.** , but I don’t think anyone here said that. “X is worse off than Y; Y commited suicide; now X will be pressured to do the same!” is a slippery-slope argument that I don’t find compelling or plausible. > [@](#): > > originally posted by **vibrotronica** > There is nothing more loathesome to me than suicide by cop. I have problems with cops as much as the next raging hippy radical guy, but most of them (at least 75%) are just guys doing a tough job. If you’re going to take your own life, take some fucking responsibility for it. Hear, hear. I don’t buy the kneejerk suicide-is-cowardice response but I agree with your example (and let’s not traumatize engineers either - stay off the frelling train tracks!) In my own experience, when I’m depressed enough to kill myself I’m also too depressed to take action. With my luck I’ll be eighty-something years old on my deathbed going, “Damn, I forgot to commit suicide!” :smack: > [@](#): > > originally posted by **jsgoddess** > The world always needs more great people. But great people don’t always need the world. Best quote in the thread. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/77 "2005-02-27T00:58:10Z")
> [@jeffh3000](#): > > [. We are certainly all taught that suicide is wrong, ? Are we? I remember having been taught that suicide was a sin at sunday school, but generally speaking, nobody (parents, teachers…) tried to teach me “suicide is wrong”. Actually, I’m surprised by the number of people who are stating here that suicide is morally wrong, and cowardly . Like every time the majority’s opinion surprises me on this board, I begin to wonder if this stance about suicide could be an american cultural trait… ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/78 "2005-02-27T02:15:19Z")
I can’t comment on French society, though Flaubert’s Mme. Bovary makes it clear he thinks suicide is painful, and _stupid_. However, I seem to recall English law used to have some really harsh penalties for suicides - something along the lines of having the body drawn, quartered, and buried at four corners of a crossroads. If that’s not a rather emphatic statement that suicide is wrong and disapproved of, I can’t imagine what would be. So, I guess I’m saying it may be an American cultural thing, but it’s not solely American, I don’t think. ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/79 "2005-02-27T23:32:28Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > I’d like to see those studies… do you have a link? I wonder how they can determine the motivation of a dead person. If they just interviewed people who _unsuccessfully_ attempted suicide, that’s not quite the same. Well, this wasn’t really a point of my post, as I was providing possibe reasons in support of suicide, however since you asked… The vast majority of suicides are unsuccessful (1 success per 24 attempts according to National Institute of Health 2001 data). For this reason, even if ALL successful attempts were done for different reasons than survivors, they would be in a great minority. The fact is that almost all medical studies done in the past 40 years show that most suicide attempts due to depression/stress/anxiety do not really want to die. Interestingly enough, most of the \*\*successful \*\* attempts are committed by the elderly (over 65) according to NIH, and several recent studies. Rates for death by suicide are around 18-22 per 100,000 for the elderly vs 9 per 100,000 for the total population (including elderly). ---
**Author:** ![jeffh3000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@jeffh3000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeffh3000)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185/80 "2005-02-27T23:52:04Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by jeffh3000 > > We are certainly all taught that suicide is wrong, ? > > Are we? I remember having been taught that suicide was a sin at sunday school, but generally speaking, nobody (parents, teachers…) tried to teach me “suicide is wrong”. > > Actually, I’m surprised by the number of people who are stating here that suicide is morally wrong, and cowardly . Like every time the majority’s opinion surprises me on this board, I begin to wonder if this stance about suicide could be an american cultural trait… Well, you took this comment out of context, not even completing my sentence as I was questioning exactly this. I think you misunderstood what I was saying. You made my point demostrating that you were taught it was morally wrong in sunday school, as well as what you refer to be the “majority opinion” of the board. As you clearly show, most people are taught by society that suicide is wrong. My question was why are we taught this? If someone is deathly ill, in pain and suffering, and life serves no purpose but endless pain, then why are they being selfish or “cowardly” if they die. It is my feeling that it is the family that is selfish or cowardly for making someone feel guilty for wanting to do this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-suicide-a-cowardly-act/291185.md?page=5)