SAPPHO@SRI-NIC.ARPA (08/14/86)
Many people who want to commit suicide are depressed. Depression is very treatable. There are a number of anti-depressants which are very dramatically helpful, and there is also a kind of psychotherapy which focuses on people's distorted thoughts which has been as effective as anti-depressants. Depression also generally gets better even without treatment, though it may recur. So most people who want to kill themselves will be glad they didn't if they are prevented from killing themselves. But a few weeks is an unrealistic period of time to give them to change their minds. Depression is more likely to last for months. Even anti-depressants take several weeks to have their full effect, and a week or two to have any noticeable effect. And sometimes you have to try a few different anti-depressants to find one that works. If people should be restrained from suicide for a period of time to be sure they really mean it, then that period of time ought to be at least several months. I also don't want to be in the business of evaluating people's reasons, except perhaps for restricting suicide to people who are terminally ill. If you support a right to suicide, does that mean that if I find that my brother has poisoned himself and I rush him to the hospital I am violating his rights? Or does it just mean that I can't commit him to a mental hospital for an indefinite period of time because he is suicidal? Lynn Gazis sappho@sri-nic ------- -------