Suicide
- derived from the Latin word suicidium which means "to kill oneself"
- a morbid means of taking one's life as it results in a total resignation from the human race
Some scholars define it as "the direct killing of oneself on one's own authority" (Gonzalvez,
1986)
Random House Webster's College Dictionary (2001) defines it as "the intentional killing of one's own life"; or
"the destruction of one's interests and prospects."
Examples of suicide: Starving oneself to death; throwing oneself down from atop a building; or drinking willfully
some considerable dosage of a poisonous drug is suicide.
What causes people to commit suicide?
According to the data provided by the World Health Organization, over one million people die of suicide every
year. Accordingly, the rate of deaths caused by suicide even surpass deaths
caused by liver and Parkinson's diseases (Wikipedia, 2009).
Suicide is usually caused by the following:
- physical pain
- illness, anxiety
- emotional pressure
- financial difficulties
- shame
- guilt
- depression
- desperation
- psychological disturbance
- mental disorder
- culture and religion
Experts qualify the following as common methods of of suicide:
- Asphyxiation (or oxygen deprivation that can be caused by hanging oneself)
- Toxification (or poisoning, or through overdosing oneself with some hazardous medicines)
- Blunt force trauma (or jumping from a building, a bill board, bridge, or sky walk)
- Self defenestrating (or making oneself killed by a train, truck, car, or any vehicle)
- Exsanguination/bloodletting (or slitting one's throat, abdomen, or wrist)
- Drowning
- Electrocution
- Self-immolation
- Starvation
Comparatively, more men die of suicide than women. Women are more bent only on making attempts to kill
themselves; this explains why they usually resort to using failure-prone methods like overdosing themselves of
some fatal drugs, or slashing their wrists. This makes experts claim that when women attempt to kill
themselves they are only probably seeking for some attention or help. On the contrary, when men contemplate
to kill themselves they do so directly by using guns, knives, and even explosives. And when it comes to
geographic comparison, records show that Asians, like the Chinese, Indians, and Japanese, have earned a
higher suicide marks than their Western counterparts.
America: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco ranks as the most popular location for those who killed
themselves through suicide as it hosted 1,200 jumpers from 1937 to 2005.
Japan: The Aokigahara Forest is considered as the most attractive ambiance to Japanese people who wanted to kill
themselves. Records show that in 2002, 78 dead bodies were found in the area as it got 73 in 1998.
Philippines: Any place may serve as a good venue for committing suicide, just as any object may be deemed good
enough to be used as a gadget to kill oneself. However, to Filipinos, the most accessible means is by jumping from
a sky walk, or from a high rise building, or from a tree; and by hanging oneself through a crude nylon cord, or
through an electric or telephone wire.
Is suicide immoral?
Yes. It is nothing else but tantamount to cowardice. It is a total reversion and aversion of the sanctity of the God-
given life.
Suicide is a blatant negation to accept the facts of life in the name of courage, obligation, respect, love, and
gratitude to God and the members of human society. If life is God-given, then it is God alone who has the
absolute right to curtail it, much more annihilate it, if He so wishes it to be. Suicide, therefore, is condemned
with so much spite and distaste as gravely illegal, and to the most, gravely immoral.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2280, "Everyone is responsible for his life before
God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the, sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life
gratefully and preserve it for His honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life
God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of."
"Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely
contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor...family...nation... to which we continue to
have obligation. Suicide is contrary to love of the living God" (No.2281)
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines in Catechism for Filipino Catholics, No. 1038, maintains
that "No one has absolute power over life and death but God. We are stewards of the gift of life granted us by
God."
Duty of healthcare provider:
To keep track with the emotional status and mental directions of their patients, especially those who are
suffering from malignant diseases, to hold on to their life no matter what.
Must always be ready to assist their patients in their spiritual, physical, emotional, psychological, and mental
turmoil.
