Is Suicide Illegal?

   The word "suicide" is a Latin-derived word meaning "to kill oneself" and refers to the act of intentionally ending one's life. In order to be considered suicide, the death must be the main reason for the act and not simply a consequence. For this reason, so-called suicide bombers and kamikaze pilots are not technically committing suicide.
   Attitudes toward suicide vary from culture to culture and religion to religion. Many philosophers in ancient Greece and ancient Rome considered it honorable to kill oneself in certain circumstances, while Islamic law is a sin.
   Western civilization has traditionally looked unfavorably upon suicide, and for many years it was a crime in many jurisdictions. In England, by the tenth century it was considered a crime, and by the seventeenth century anyone who committed suicide forfeited his or her personal property. It wasn't until 1961 that suicide and attempted suicide were decriminalized in England, while in Ireland suicide was decriminalized as late as 1993. Strangely, when suicide was still considered a crime, it was considered punishable by death.
   As of 1963, six states in the U.S. still considered attempted suicide a crime, but by the 1990s this number was reduced to two states and today suicide is legal everywhere in the U.S. For this reason, the word "commit" is often avoided in connection with suicide, as it implies that the act is a crime.
   While the act of suicide isn't a crime, it can have negative consequences. Most insurance companies, for instance, won't pay out to the beneficiary of a person holding a life-insurance policy who has committed suicide. In addition, many jurisdictions still consider assisting someone in the act-such as a medical professional performing euthanasia-as a criminal offense. Euthanasia consequently remains a hotly debated topic.