September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Posters, bracelets, and words of “hope” are being spread around Glenbard North High School. According to my research of going around and asking people, generally people think that others committing suicide is bad. But, could there be a situation where suicide is justified, beautiful, or optimal? If so, what are those situations? When people say that all hope is gone, how accurate are they? What are the morals of suicide? When people are talking about suicide awareness, are they considering these questions? The goal of this article is to collect opinions on if suicide could be justifiable and to research other people’s stories on whether their suicide was for a understandable reason.

There is a law that was passed in 1997 called the Death With Dignity Act (DWDA). DWDA was passed in November 1994 by Oregon voters, the votes being 51% to 49%. This law was lifted on October 27, 1997, but then reinstated In November 1997 by a margin of 60% to 40%. This law allows terminally ill people to end their lives through a voluntary lethal dose of medication. This medication is prescribed by a physician. There are requirements to participate in the DWDA. The requirements are that you have to be eighteen years or older, capable of making and communicating health care decisions, and diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months. These states have adopted the Death with Dignity law: California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

People say that all hope is gone for many different reasons. Depression, loss of loved ones, and many other reasons. But when is that true? When is all hope really gone? The thought of committing suicide because someone believes that things are never going get better might seem out of the ordinary to some people. But how often are the people that believe they have no more hope right? In a CNN News article published by Dr. Charles Raison, CNN Health’s mental health expert, Raison says that you can not understand someone committing suicide unless your life was torn apart by an episode of major depression. He says severe major depression is “probably the most unbearable pain,” while people with physical pain may learn how to separate themselves from the pain. So according to  Dr. Raison, suicide may be justifiable if you are in extreme mental pain. 

How does someone get to the point of being in so much mental pain that they commit suicide? Well that is too broad of a question to answer. Everyone that commits suicide has their own reason for doing so. But there is a couple who shared their story on March 7, 2023, on the Death With Dignity website. Their names were Bev Baccelli and Liz DiCarlo, from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts. Baccelli lived with multiple sclerosis since age twenty-seven, multiple myeloma, and an incurable cancer for fourteen years. Baccelli wants Death With Dignity to help her avoid a painful death and to die peacefully with her partner Liz by her side. In an interview with DiCarlo and Baccelli, DiCarlo says that Death With Dignity lets them focus on the love they shared with one another rather than watching their loved one in pain and suffering like they have seen with different family members. In the same interview, DiCarlo says having medical aid in dying gives you options, meaning that you do not have to die right away, but you can choose to die anytime you want during the dying phase. If you are a terminally ill patient in pain, but you don’t want to die using Death With Dignity, you can choose to be unconscious until you die. Baccelli knew she was going to die soon, and instead of slowly dying in pain she wanted the ability to choose when to die and the ability to die with her partner. Is this an example where suicide is justifiable?

I Interviewed people at Glenbard North high school on their idea of justifiable suicide. These are their opinions:

The first person I Interviewed was Vicky Flores, ’24. The first question I asked Vicky was if suicide could be beautiful. They responded, “I think it’s sad, and it hurts other people’s feelings, like it affects the people around you, not just yourself.” Another question I asked them was if they thought talking about suicide is taboo. Vicky answered,  “I think it’s good to talk about it so, like, you bring awareness to it. But, I don’t think it’s terrible.”

Another person I Interviewed was Billy Kavanaugh, ’24. I asked him if he thought talking about suicide is taboo. He said, “It’s not a good thing to talk about. It’s not something that should be joked about. It should be something that no one should talk about because there is not a good way to talk about it.”

The last person I interviewed was Carmen Teague, one of the social workers at Glenbard North.  The first question I asked her was if suicide could be justified. She responded, “I think people can justify anything. If you talk to a person who is suicidal, they have many reasons as to why they came to suicide as their last resort. So I think it depends on who you talk to about suicide.” The next question I asked Carmen Teague was: Is there ever a situation where you would not blame someone for committing suicide? She answered, “Well, I would never blame anyone. I feel like that is their choice and that Is their option. So I never judge anyone that came to that decision, that they thought that was right for them. As a mental health specialist, it’s my job to support people so that they don’t feel like they have to make that decision. It’s my job to provide resources, to provide other options as alternatives to suicide.” The final question I asked Teague is if she thought talking about suicide was taboo. She said, “I think now it is becoming more common and more acceptable. I think we see social media and people are sharing their stories and letting people know that it’s okay to not feel okay. If you do have those thoughts of suicide there are hotlines, there are people that you can reach out to to get help, so I think like as a culture we’re becoming more accustomed to having conversations as we’re seeing It happen more, you know in real time. You see when it happens and we’re having these difficult conversations about suicide.”

I can confidently say based on my interviews, research, and talking to people that the popular opinion is that suicide is generally bad. But, during this reading, you have seen examples of people choosing to end their life for what they believe are good reasons. This reading has also showed you some people at Glenbard North’s opinion on if suicide could be justifiable. My personal opinion on this topic is yes, I do think there are situations where suicide can be justified. I believe if you are ever in a situation where you know you are going to die, suicide could be poetic. I believe that terminally ill patients should have the choice to end their lives. It would be saddening in the sense that it is hurting their loved ones, but I think it is beautiful when they can get a sense of peace. That is a justified and poetic suicide in my opinion.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, mental health crisis, and/or substance use crisis, call or text 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For In school help, go to the counselor office by the deans, or call Glenbard North’s school counseling. Glenbard North’s school counseling number is (630)-681-3107.