Advocacy of suicide, also known as pro-suicide, has occurred in many
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
s and
subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
s.
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
holds that one should give up one's
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
, if necessary, either passively or actively, for the sake of upholding the cardinal moral values of ''
ren Ren or REN may refer to:
Abbreviations
* Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia
* Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company
* Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus
* Ringer equivalence number ( ...
'' (altruism) and ''
yi'' (righteousness). The
Japanese military
The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, th ...
during World War II encouraged and glorified
kamikaze
, officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...
attacks, and Japanese society as a whole has been described as "suicide-tolerant" (see
Suicide in Japan
In Japan, is considered a major social issue. In 2017, the country had the seventh highest suicide rate in the OECD, at 14.9 per 100,000 persons, and in 2019 the country had the second highest suicide rate among the G7 developed nations. Ho ...
).
Internet
Advocacy of
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
has also taken place
over the Internet. A study by the ''
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Origi ...
'' found that Web searches for information on suicide are likely to return sites that encourage, and even facilitate,
suicide attempt
A suicide attempt is an attempt to die by suicide that results in survival. It may be referred to as a "failed" or "unsuccessful" suicide attempt, though these terms are discouraged by mental health professionals for implying that a suicide res ...
s. While pro-suicide resources were less frequent than neutral or anti-suicide sites, they were nonetheless easily accessible. There is some concern that such sites may push the
suicidal
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...
person over the edge. Some people form
suicide pact
A suicide pact is an agreed plan between two or more individuals to die by suicide. The plan may be to die together, or separately and closely timed.
General considerations
Suicide pacts are an important concept in the study of suicide, and h ...
s with people they meet online. Becker writes, "Suicidal adolescent visitors risk losing their doubts and fears about committing suicide. Risk factors include peer pressure to commit suicide and appointments for joint suicides. Furthermore, some chat rooms celebrate chatters who committed suicide."
William Francis Melchert-Dinkel
William Francis Melchert-Dinkel (born July 20, 1962) is an American former licensed practical nurse who was convicted in 2011 of encouraging people to commit suicide.Rideau River, opposite Carleton University.
Melchert-Dinkel was also convicted i ...
, 47 years old in May 2010, from
Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,352 at the 2010 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.
Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highways ...
, a licensed nurse from 1991 until February 2009, stands accused of encouraging people to commit suicide while he watched
voyeuristically
Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature.
The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". A ...
on a
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...
.
["William Melchert-Dinkel charged with encouraging suicides](_blank)
''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' He allegedly told these contemplating suicide what methods worked best, that it was okay to commit suicide, that they would be better in heaven, and/or entered into suicide pacts with them.
Dinkel was charged with two counts of assisting suicide, for allegedly encouraging the suicides of a person in Britain in 2005 and another person in Canada in 2008.
Suzy's Law would, in the US, ban sites that provide information on
suicide methods
A suicide method is any means by which a person chooses to end their life. Suicide attempts do not always result in death, and a nonfatal suicide attempt can leave the person with serious physical injuries, long-term health problems, and bra ...
or otherwise
assist suicide. There have been some legal bans on pro-suicide web sites, most notably in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, but arguably such bans merely increase awareness of such sites and encourage site owners to move their sites to different jurisdictions.
See also
*
alt.suicide.holiday
alt.suicide.holiday (a.s.h, ASH or ash) is a Usenet newsgroup. Its original purpose was to discuss the relationship between suicide rates and holiday seasons. However, it has since evolved into a broad discussion forum where suicidal people can op ...
*
Sanctioned Suicide
Sanctioned Suicide (SS) is an internet forum known for its open discussion and encouragement of suicide and suicide methods. The forum was founded on March 18, 2018, by self-described incels Diego Joaquín Galante and Lamarcus Small, who g ...
*
Altruistic suicide
Altruistic suicide is the sacrifice of one's life in order to save or benefit others, for the good of the group, or to preserve the traditions and honor of a society. It is always intentional. Benevolent suicide refers to the Self-denial, self sac ...
— a suicide that is done for the benefit of others
*
Church of Euthanasia
The Church of Euthanasia (also known as CoE) is a religion founded by Chris Korda and Robert Kimberk (Pastor Kim) in Boston, Massachusetts in 1992.
As stated on its website, it is "a non-profit educational foundation devoted to restoring balan ...
*
Human extinction
Human extinction, also known as omnicide, is the hypothetical end of the human species due to either natural causes such as population decline from sub-replacement fertility, an asteroid impact, or large-scale volcanism, or to anthropogenic ...
*
Philosophy of suicide
In ethics and other branches of philosophy, suicide poses difficult questions, answered differently by various philosophers. The French Algerian essayist, novelist, and playwright Albert Camus (1913–1960) began his philosophical essay '' The ...
*
Pro-ana
Promotion of anorexia is the promotion of behaviors related to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. It is often referred to simply as pro-ana or ana. The lesser-used term pro-mia refers likewise to bulimia nervosa and is sometimes used interchan ...
and
Pro-mia — advocacy of
eating disorders
An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that negatively affect a person's physical or mental health. Only one eating disorder can be diagnosed at a given time. Types of eating disorders include binge eating ...
*
Right to die
The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without t ...
*
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health ...
*
Suicide is Painless
"Suicide Is Painless" (or "Song from M*A*S*H") is a song written by Johnny Mandel (music) and Michael Altman (lyrics) for the 1970 film ''M*A*S*H''. In addition to being performed by characters in the film, it plays during the title sequence as ...
References
{{reflist
Suicide